By handpicking volatile ingredients from two distinct genres -- hard-boiled detective noir and haunted-house gothic horror -- Martin Scorsese shines a light on Dennis Lehane's psychologically disturbing novel Shutter Island, producing an ominous, claustrophobic and at times confusing endurance test that audiences no doubt will want to take.
Hollywood's decision makers would be wise to snatch up rights to the rest of Lehane's books, if they haven't already been purchased. Something about the man's crime stories brings out the best in filmmakers. The overbearing weight of remorse and the magnetic pull of retribution are two hefty themes that have translated from Lehane's pages to the silver screen in pictures like Clint Eastwood's Mystic River and Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone. Scorsese becomes the latest director to mine gold from the best-selling author's emotionally challenging prose.
It's the mid-1950s. Shutter Island, we are told, is a decrepit rock situated off the Massachusetts coastline that houses an experimental institute for the criminally insane. U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), have been summoned to the facility to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient named Rachel Solando. But as Teddy interrogates the institute's staff -- notably Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and his direct supervisor, Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow) -- it's clear that things on Shutter Island aren't what they seem.
Gangs of New York ranks, for me, as the strongest of Scorsese and DiCaprio's four collaborations. Shutter Island is a close second. DiCaprio's subtle turn as a stoic hero slowly crumbling is mesmerizing. The madness seems to start at DiCaprio's edges and works its way to his core. Scorsese also gets excellent support from the fantastic cast, including Michelle Williams as Teddy's late wife and the flea-bitten Jackie Earl Haley as a Shutter Island inmate.
As for the isolated institute, it provides a treasure trove of atmospheric gifts which Scorsese, the maestro, composes into an imposing, unsettling thriller. The director seems particularly interested in Teddy's war-time experiences. An Army veteran, Teddy was at Dachau for the concentration camp's final days. As he witnessed the aftermath, he struggled with a desire to enact violent retribution on the Nazi soldiers who committed such heinous crimes. This builds to a fantastic mini-tracking shot detailing a justified massacre, but also points to an undercurrent of bloodthirsty vengeance that runs through Shutter Island, though its destination isn't remotely clear until each puzzle piece has been laid out on the table.
Because of the story's inherent misdirection, it's more fun watching Scorsese's twisty mind-melt of a mystery when you already know the outcome (as those who've read Lehane's novel will). The story sets up two possible truths -- either Teddy's an actual detective, or he's a Shutter Island patient -- and does its best to deceive right up until the final line of dialogue. Even then, Scorsese's ending is ambiguous...as was Lehane's. You won't get clarification here. Unraveling Shutter is the point of the ride. But it's worth noting how certain lines of dialogue, and subsequent reactions from key players, hold different meanings on a second pass, when you have a better feel for what's happening.
Repeat viewings, I imagine, will only enhance the Shutter Island experience -- though certain dark sequences involving the loss of children (which are essential to the psychological makeup of Scorsese's main characters) can be tough to endure more than once. Minor faults in the film can also be found in Lehane's novel, from the convenient monsoon that strands Teddy on the island to the participation of...well, actually, I can't tell you that one without spoiling something major.
What I can say is this: It's disappointing Scorsese eventually won his Best Director Oscar for a derivative, third-tier gangster picture like The Departed. As anyone who paid attention to his career prior to 2006 knows, he has made some breathtaking masterpieces. And now, as anyone who has seen Shutter Island knows, he just created another one.
Hollywood's decision makers would be wise to snatch up rights to the rest of Lehane's books, if they haven't already been purchased. Something about the man's crime stories brings out the best in filmmakers. The overbearing weight of remorse and the magnetic pull of retribution are two hefty themes that have translated from Lehane's pages to the silver screen in pictures like Clint Eastwood's Mystic River and Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone. Scorsese becomes the latest director to mine gold from the best-selling author's emotionally challenging prose.
It's the mid-1950s. Shutter Island, we are told, is a decrepit rock situated off the Massachusetts coastline that houses an experimental institute for the criminally insane. U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), have been summoned to the facility to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient named Rachel Solando. But as Teddy interrogates the institute's staff -- notably Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and his direct supervisor, Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow) -- it's clear that things on Shutter Island aren't what they seem.
Gangs of New York ranks, for me, as the strongest of Scorsese and DiCaprio's four collaborations. Shutter Island is a close second. DiCaprio's subtle turn as a stoic hero slowly crumbling is mesmerizing. The madness seems to start at DiCaprio's edges and works its way to his core. Scorsese also gets excellent support from the fantastic cast, including Michelle Williams as Teddy's late wife and the flea-bitten Jackie Earl Haley as a Shutter Island inmate.
As for the isolated institute, it provides a treasure trove of atmospheric gifts which Scorsese, the maestro, composes into an imposing, unsettling thriller. The director seems particularly interested in Teddy's war-time experiences. An Army veteran, Teddy was at Dachau for the concentration camp's final days. As he witnessed the aftermath, he struggled with a desire to enact violent retribution on the Nazi soldiers who committed such heinous crimes. This builds to a fantastic mini-tracking shot detailing a justified massacre, but also points to an undercurrent of bloodthirsty vengeance that runs through Shutter Island, though its destination isn't remotely clear until each puzzle piece has been laid out on the table.
Because of the story's inherent misdirection, it's more fun watching Scorsese's twisty mind-melt of a mystery when you already know the outcome (as those who've read Lehane's novel will). The story sets up two possible truths -- either Teddy's an actual detective, or he's a Shutter Island patient -- and does its best to deceive right up until the final line of dialogue. Even then, Scorsese's ending is ambiguous...as was Lehane's. You won't get clarification here. Unraveling Shutter is the point of the ride. But it's worth noting how certain lines of dialogue, and subsequent reactions from key players, hold different meanings on a second pass, when you have a better feel for what's happening.
Repeat viewings, I imagine, will only enhance the Shutter Island experience -- though certain dark sequences involving the loss of children (which are essential to the psychological makeup of Scorsese's main characters) can be tough to endure more than once. Minor faults in the film can also be found in Lehane's novel, from the convenient monsoon that strands Teddy on the island to the participation of...well, actually, I can't tell you that one without spoiling something major.
What I can say is this: It's disappointing Scorsese eventually won his Best Director Oscar for a derivative, third-tier gangster picture like The Departed. As anyone who paid attention to his career prior to 2006 knows, he has made some breathtaking masterpieces. And now, as anyone who has seen Shutter Island knows, he just created another one.
