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“A horror film’s job is to scare you, is to get your pulse going, is to make you scream and yell. It’s to make you be afraid. That’s its main purpose, and creeping you out. And that can be an enjoyable experience.” --- John Carpenter ::::::::::::: MY CRITERIA FOR DISCUSSION ENCOMPASSES THE HORROR GENRE AND BEYOND, SO I USE THE TERM "NIGHTMARE MOVIES". SPOILERS CAN OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Shutter Island

March 4th 2010 23:41
Shutter Island movie poster
“God gave us violence to wage in his honour.”

Martin Scorsese, arguably the greatest living American director, has delivered some of the finest examples of bravura cinema storytelling ever put to celluloid; Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours, Goodfellas, Cape Fear (1991), Casino, and The Departed, movies that expose the most potent and fragile elements of humanity; dark and resonant studies of character, faith and betrayal, loyalty and deception … and the glorious beast of violence.

Although Scorsese has worked with original screenplays, he frequently prefers to direct a story adapted from a novel, painting his own shades on the story’s multi-layered levels (A Martin Scorsese Picture). Shutter Island (2010) is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane and has been adapted for the screen by Laeta Kalogridis (who penned Oliver Stone’s Alexander and the Russian sf-horror Night Watch – talk about chalk and cheese!) Scorsese has grabbed the baton and he runs hard; Shutter Island is the best movie he’s made since Casino.
Shutter Island Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy
To analyse this movie in any great depth is to fiddle ungraciously with the movie’s great conceit. And therein lies The Rub. Scorsese is essentially taking the paranoid brilliance of Phillip K. Dick and injecting it into the intensity of a Hitchcockian psychological thriller, laced with Gothic overtones, and anchored in a dark historical context. Shutter Island is pure nightmare, a slow-burner that smolders away for two hours, leaving third-degree wounds across your psyche by movie’s end. Where had the reality ended and the insanity begun? Where had truth been masked and the façade of lies fabricated? Is everything clear cut, or is everything within a frame?
Shutter Island Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo as Chuck
It’s 1954 and US marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are investigating the mysterious disappearance of a patient from a high security institution for the criminally insane called Ashecliffe, on ominous Shutter Island. On the island Teddy and Chuck met the affable head Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and his associate Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow). Almost immediately Teddy deduces that all is not what is seems. There are demons in Teddy’s closet and the onset of a ferocious hurricane seems to be aggravating them.
Shutter Island Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley as Dr. Cawley
Shutter Island Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow as Dr. Naehring
Like Phillip K. Dick’s famous novel Time Out of Joint and Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Shutter Island plays on the audience’s suspicions, on the character’s paranoia, and on the duplicity of the narrative itself. On the surface the movie is a convoluted murder mystery, but once the surface is peeled back, the darkness gleams like a monster waiting in the abyss. Packaged in Scorsese’s usual high calibre production style; fluid, striking camerawork and cinematography, edgy and compelling use of music (a diverse range of sourced pieces from Mahler to Cage), elliptical editing (from Scorsese’s ever-loyal Thelma Schoonmaker), and a fantastic cast that sees DiCaprio put in some of the best work of his career, but also features a shining performance from Kingsley, solid work from Ruffalo, with the always excellent Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Elias Koteas (seemingly channeling De Niro) in small pivotal parts, and in one delightfully menacing scene (which felt like it was conjured from the mind of Roald Dahl), Ted Levine as the Warden.
Shutter Island Leonardo DeCaprio and Michelle Williams
Teddy has nightmares of his dead wife (Michelle Williams)
Shutter Island Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo
Teddy and Chuck confront the storm head on
Shutter Island is, however, very talky, and I felt some two-hander scenes went on too long, such as Teddy’s encounters with George Noyce (Jackie Earl Haley) and Rachel 2 (Clarkson). Perhaps this is reflective of screenwriter Kalogridis trying to harness too much of the novel’s literary weight? Apparently, however, there were considerable modifications made to Lehane’s original story to steer the screenplay toward being a more action-oriented “blockbuster” (and rightfully so the movie has given Scorsese and DiCaprio career highs in box office openings). Thankfully Scorsese’s innate ability to maintain audience interest simply due to the performances he elicits from his actors prevents the movie from becoming turgid or tedious.
Shutter Island lighthouse
Does the lighthouse contain the truth?
The last ten or so minutes reveals quite the masterminded operation that in itself questions everything we’ve witnessed as an audience. This is moviemaking as workshop; the artifice that continues to be sculpted as it is polished; the art of hallucination amidst the pretence of radical experimentation. If a patient is diagnosed as insane, then any rationale or defence mechanism offered by the patient must be taken with a grain of salt by those deemed sane. Shutter Island will no doubt reward and confound with repeat viewings.

“What would be worse? To live as a monster or die as a good man?”

Here's the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews
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8 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by JohnDoe

March 5th 2010 03:17


Film & TV on DVD
Hi Bryn,

i read the book awhile back which was an entertaining, while very light read compared to some of the authors grittier works.

From the trailer it looks like Scorsese has captured the mood of the source...but the insular narrative conceit seems like a bit of a stretch for a visual translation....will have to wait and see on DVD.

Comment by Bryn

March 5th 2010 06:49


Horrorphile
JD, I know of the author, but have never read any of his novels. What do you recommend? BTW Shutter Island is great on the big screen

Comment by ShaunK

March 26th 2010 11:26


Screen Adventure
I was a bit dissapointed by this film I had been holding my breath to see it since last May. I found it convoluted and the top heavy exposition constantly threatened to capsize the film.

I do love Scorsese - and he looked like he was having a lot of fun making this - I loved the old school touches. He really lets loose in this and I'm still seriously contemplating seeing it again in cinemas. Hell , maybe i'll see it again tomorrow.

Comment by Bryn

April 6th 2010 00:20


Horrorphile
I'd be curious to know what a repeat viewing is like ...

Comment by ShaunK

April 7th 2010 00:44


Screen Adventure
Just did my review now for it , check it out and my review for 'the Thirst'

I actually liked shutter island more the second time

Also, you mentioned that this is his best film since Casino? Have you seen 'Bringing Out The Dead'? I reckon its one of his three best films ever! although I'm clearly in the minority there

Comment by Bryn

April 7th 2010 01:52


Horrorphile
Shaun,
I did enjoy Bringing Out the Dead, but need to see it again.
So what are his other two best movies, in your opinion?
My top five Scorsese would be:
1. Goodfellas
2. Taxi Driver
3. Raging Bull
4. The King of Comedy
5. Afterhours

Comment by ShaunK

April 7th 2010 05:00


Screen Adventure
his other two top films I think were Taxi Driver and Raging Bull

I have seen GoodFellas more than his other movies but if you read my review for it, I considered it a departure for him and because of how much polish there is in it I cant rank it as highly as his other films - as a matter of fact I liked Casino more than Good Fellas because it went further into the character's than GF did even though technically GF is the stronger film of the two..

Comment by Bryn

April 7th 2010 06:58


Horrorphile
You speak of "polish" and discount Goodfellas, yet Raging Bull is probably the most "polished" of all his movies. That's the film he threw everything he knew about filmmaking into it, because he thought it might be the last movie he ever made. I saw Goodfellas when it came out back in 1990, and like you I've seen it numerous times, and it's still as potent and visceral and exhilarating as it was back then.
I also rate Mean Streets and Cape Fear very highly too.

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