Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River,” “Gone Baby Gone”), “Shutter Island” stars Leonardo DiCaprio in another Boston-accented outing as U.S. Federal “Mah”-shal Teddy Daniels. The year is 1954 and Teddy has been dispatched to a hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a female inmate. Along with his new partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), Teddy makes his rounds on Shutter Island questioning its workers.
The film’s beginning follows the normal pattern of any other investigative cop mystery film; questions are slowly answered, new sinister ones arise and things are not what they seem. Teddy’s first glimpse of the island’s inmates in the garden is shot with eerie perfection.
This is a dark film, not only in its subject matter but all-over look. DiCaprio’s performance is dark, even though this role isn’t as demanding as others he has done. Few actors convey intensity, alarm and fear better than DiCaprio.
More ominous and mysterious are the flashbacks/dreams that Teddy has once he arrives on the island. In his sleep he is plagued by visions of his dead wife (Michelle Williams) and unnamed faces from the concentration camp he helped liberate in World War II. These beautifully haunting sequences brilliantly pieced together by editor Thelma Schoonmaker are the most memorable portions of “Shutter Island.”
The production and design make for a very authentic 1950s. Leo’s detective getup, on the other hand, looks a little ridiculous in the beginning with a cliché khaki overcoat and goofy Hawaiian tie.
The supporting casting for “Shutter Island” is perfect. Emily Mortimer (“Match Point”) plays the escaped murderess Rachel Solando with such a peculiarly sweet yet twisted disposition. Jackie Earle Haley (“Watchmen”) makes a frightening appearance as a prisoner in Ward C, the residence of the island’s most dangerous inmates. Ted Levine (“The Silence of the Lambs”) plays the island warden and is subtly terrifying.
The pacing of the film varies from scene to scene because of the difficult page-to-screen adaptation process. There are a few lengthy scenes where it seems as if the screenwriter took loads of information that were revealed at a relevant pace in the novel and packed it all into tight dialogue-heavy scenes for the movie.
There are opportunities aplenty to be frightened, though. But there are so many mysterious twists and additions to sift through that I couldn’t keep track of what was important as the climax approached.
As most expected, there is a twist ending. It takes 20 to 30 minutes of the film to explain. Understandably, many people will lose interest in the film’s absurdity in its waning minutes, but with an open mind, sense can be made of it all. Some people may not be gratified with the final product but it is one crazy trip.
While “Shutter Island” is certainly not as memorable as “Taxi Driver” or as epic as “The Aviator,” it is a worthy and unique addition to the already legendary catalog of Martin Scorsese. Full of mind-bending suspense and grimly beautiful imagery, it is the first good movie of 2010.
However, I feel the same way about this film as I do with another of Scorsese’s films, “Bringing Out the Dead” – some scenes were boring, some scenes were great, but it’s hard to understand why anyone thought either story would be worth the time of being made into a movie.