It’s where we create the ghosts
Swift shot: Mentally intriguing suspense mystery worthy of Hitchcock. Coming off the success with The Departed and flexing his mental muscles a bit more, dabbling in subtle tones of darkness and despair, Marty delivers a fine film for those that miss the classic thrillers. Shutter Island has a lot going on, and you need to pay attention to pry out the nuances of brilliance throughout.
The film opens with a rocky ferry ride to Ashecliffe Hospital, a kind of mental hospital with armed guards, a prison for the criminally insane – think Arkham Asylum meets The Rock. U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), witness to the most despicable scenes of World War II, is sent to the island in 1954 to locate a missing patient who seemingly vanished from her cell without a trace. He is paired with a new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) who never leaves his side throughout the investigation. The escaped mental patient, Rachel is cunning and deadly, but how did she manage to leave her cell? Did she have help escaping? Is there someone on the inside working against the investigation?
There are so many different themes in Shutter Island, and the intrigue and suspense are strangely believable, clues are given to the investigators and the audience as more pieces of the puzzle are revealed – but these pieces just seem to add to the frustration. Something dark and sinister is going on at Ashecliffe Hospital, with so many secrets, so many ghosts, too many lies and dark whispers creating traumatic nightmares making it impossible to discover the truth.
Why are the OSS (current CIA) and other federal agencies consulting with the staff? What could macabre, diabolical geniuses do with limitless power? What kind of traps could they set, and are they on the side of evil? These are the questions you will continually find yourself churning in your head – just what is going on at Ashecliffe Hospital?
Incredibly well acted film, as you would expect from Marty Scorsese. Cameos abounded in Shutter Island, and one in particular brought back some guttural personal feelings I haven’t had watching a film since Silence of the Lambs. Shutter Island is full of ghosts, actors I thought had passed on, if not from the Earth, then clearly from the public arena. Of course, for Scorsese, they were more than willing to make a dramatic return – much to my dark delight.
You will be entertained and you will be discussing this movie for months with your friends. Why doesn’t this get five stars? While the concept and delivery of the film were brilliant, I can’t say I didn’t find loopholes that left me mentally agitated afterward. Most stories are like this, of course, because they are works of fiction, and I would have liked to see some more character impact from some of the cameos and a little less from other characters. Can’t call this one flawless for that reason, and that reason alone – otherwise, an amazing piece of film that you must treat yourself to.
A dynamic dirge for the weary soul, for the travelers who live in violence and who understand its brutal, yet efficient, applications. Things are never quite what they seem, and the music and memories of the past will remind you of a dark episode in your own lives perhaps – when justice and vengeance met at a cross-roads, and where the truth set you free.
