MOVIE REVIEWS: SHUTTER ISLAND

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

MOVIE REVIEWS: SHUTTER ISLAND

IN THEATERS

SHUTTER ISLAND

Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio team up as a pair of U.S. Marshals who travel to a secluded island off the coast of Massachusetts to search for an escaped mental patient, uncovering a web of deception along the way as they battle the forces of nature and a prison riot in this Martin Scorsese-helmed period picture. Laeta Kalogridis adapts Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name, with Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures splitting production and distribution duties. Ben Kingsley co-stars as the head of the institution where the patient resided, while Michelle Williams portrays Leonardo DiCaprio's deceased wife, whose memory haunts him during the investigation. Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, and Jackie Earle Haley round out the supporting cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow.

Release Date: Feb 19, 2010

Rated R for disturbing violent content, some nudity and language

Runtime: 2 hr. 18 min.

Genres: Action, Thriller

Review:

Martin Scorsese’s visually stunning Shutter Island is a mind bending trek through heady themes that leave you asking yourself questions long after you’ve finished watching it. Scorsese’s visual flair is apparent from the start and his creativity truly shows during the classic dream sequences that pepper the film. He creates a visual landscape that is unsettlingly and unnerving. He accomplishes this with such flair that I’d be hard pressed to find any diehard movie fan who finds faults with its construction. Scorsese does a wonderful job of channeling Hitchcock’s style and music but making it distinctively his at the same time. The director’s go to guy, Leonardo DiCaprio, is more than up to the challenge as well. DiCaprio is appropriately intense and conflicted throughout, adding another layer to the performance as the film heads into its finale. He does a wonderful job of showing the characters inner struggle throughout without going over the top. Mark Ruffalo is engaging and steady, providing a nice anchor point for DiCaprio’s character. Ben Kingsley is stoic throughout. The remainder of the supporting players Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, and Jackie Earle Haley all make the most of their small but impactful parts. Shutter Island’s plot and central mystery are best left to be discovered on your own even if it’s fairly obvious from a healthy dose of Easter eggs dropped throughout the film. Admittedly, this type of story has been done before but what makes Shutter Island special is talent in front of and behind the camera.

A-