Movie Review -- Shutter Island

Directed by Martin Scorcese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels, Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule, and Ben Kingsley as Dr. Cawley.

Quote: imdb.com

It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.

In the previews for this movie, it came across as a horror film more than a thriller. Generally, I don't like to see horror films but I actually love great horror films. I felt that this movie had the capability to be like Scorcese's version of "Cape Fear", a Scorcese classic thriller/horror movie that scares the crap out of me every time I see it -- I like the Simpsons version better when Sideshow Bob steps on a rake over and over again.

However, the movie is a thriller. As I watched it yesterday, I came to realize that it had several problems both with its story and its directing. From the story standpoint, it's difficult to care enough for DiCaprio's character to become engrossed in the movie and to cheer him on. In fact, my impression at the start of the movie was that DiCaprio was an unlikeable character so I really didn't care for him and that distanced myself from the movie overall.

With the directing, the music and the cinematography is over the top and obvious, so much so that it takes away from the story and makes you really realize that you are watching a story. Even though "Avatar" featured blue people and animation, you were sucked in so quickly to the storyline and the technology that you were engrossed. With this movie, you realize that you are watching dramatic effects which really fail to deliver. You hear this great overpowering "horror film" music and then a door opens to nothing. And at no point in the movie does the door or plot open to "something" that justifies the leadup.

Now, if DiCaprio's character was more likeable, the cinematic effects might be overlooked, so I think people will have a different view of this. Teddy's charatcter was in World War II and there is a scene involving his group of people in a Nazi Death camp "taking care of business" which immediately makes DiCaprio, to me, an unlikeable character. Some people might argue that what DiCaprio did in that scene was completely justifiable and made him more likeable. I can't say the same.

The movie does wrap up with a fantastic ending however, with enough plot twists and turns to really make you think at the end of the movie. DiCaprio is not nearly as awful as it seems, after all. Scorcese saves the movie from being a stinker. The ending moment itself is a great topic of debate.

I would have really loved the movie if they would have built DiCaprio into a better, more likeable character at the start and had not employed so much obvious cinematography without the "oomph" behind it.

I would grade this movie a B-.

I thought that DiCaprio's character was interestingly conflicted. His actions at Dachau were those of a moral person who has to confront great evil. In that instant, it got the better of him. This is pretty vital to the ending and what we learn of his actions when confronted with another great evil.


If he's not entirely likeable because of it, that's fine by me, because it made him a very interesting character. Really, it's a movie about what we do when faced with difficult choices: can we rise above our circumstances? If we take actions that we are not proud of, how do we deal with those memories? It's a character study dressed as a thriller.

Also, it's hard to discuss it without spoilers, but consider what you say about there never being anything behind the scary door in light of the ending. Scorsese -- never a restrained filmmaker -- amps up the music and mood in the traditional horror/thriller style and yet seemingly the real horror never quite materializes. I think the movie is pretty well served by this.

I liked it quite a bit. My biggest complaint is that I've been seeing the trailers for it forever and I feel they gave too much away.

The fun part of analyzing the movie is going back through the movie looking for clues, a la Sixth Sense.

Shutter Island was totally panned on "At the Movies" last night on TV and again this morning on "Sunday Morning." Thanks for the review. Pass.

--Dorothy

Would it be a spoiler to let us know a little more about DiCaprio in the war? If he was doing something dubious was he a German? I assume not a Nazi?

There are several flashbacks in the movie where he is an American fighting in the war. He encounters a concentration camp. The Germans surrender. There is one scene where the commander botches his own suicide and DeCaprio has the choice to put him out of his misery or to let him suffer. There is another scene where they are taking the German soldiers who are captured and the soldiers (including DeCaprio) makes the choice to do something else than follow the Geneva Convention.

Some people will observe that the Germans were doing something so bad that they deserve to suffer and be killed while others will observe that the captured soldiers were just that, captured. Certainly these are moral decision points within the film which can only help or hinder the feelings you have for DiCaprio. It's a point you need to think about, because in the horror of a concentration camp and seeing all of these dead and suffering, I would say it would be pretty much impossible do act in an appropriate, legal way from an emotional standpoint. This builds into the movie with a very similar situation later in the film.

Certainly, on retrospect, the movie is alot better AFTER you see it. While you are seeing it, however, I didn't feel that way.

The AV Club gives it an A-. I negotiated a deal with Mrs Mosca, I'll go see Shutter Island with her if she'll go see Crazy Heart with me.