Skip to content

Nights and Weekends

Reviews of movies, books, music, and board games

Primary Menu
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Pin Posts
  • Privacy
  • Home
  • Shutter Island

Shutter Island

kdk February 19, 2010
0 0
Read Time:4 Second

The last time Martin Scorsese directed Leonardo DiCaprio in a Boston-based thriller (2006’s .nightsandweekends.com/articles/06/NW0600445.php>The Departed), he walked away with his very first (long overdue) Oscar. And, last summer, Hollywood was already buzzing about Marty’s follow-up feature, Shutter Island, which was scheduled for a fall release—to put it in the running for the year’s awards. But then Paramount was forced to bump the release date due to financial issues, and one of Hollywood’s most beloved directors found his latest film dumped out among the cheesy action and bad comedies of February. But for those of us who have been slogging our way through a pretty grim couple of months of movies, award season’s loss is our gain.



For Shutter Island, Scorsese once again teams up with DiCaprio, who stars as U.S. Marshal Ted Daniels. Along with his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), Daniels is sent to investigate the 1954 disappearance of a patient at Ashecliffe, an institution for the criminally insane, located on Boston’s forlorn Shutter Island.



From its opening scene, Shutter Island will give classic thriller fans a shiver of anticipation—because, with its eerie cinematography and its larger-than-life score, this haunting psychological thriller feels just like classic Hitchcock. Even the film’s few visual effects, which look intentionally old-fashioned, are throwbacks to films like North by Northwest and Psycho. The atmosphere, too, is heavy and menacing. And the deeper you get into the story, the darker and more disorienting it becomes.



At first, the case seems strange but straightforward—just a missing patient who seems to have vanished without a trace. But the head doctor, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), seems to be hiding something—and Daniels soon reveals that there’s more to the case than just a missing woman.



Daniels has been investigating the institution on his own, and he suspects that there’s something more sinister happening on Shutter Island. But as he continues to investigate, he’s plagued with headaches and flashbacks from his troubled past.



Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island is a mesmerizing psychological mystery, with twists and turns that are sure to keep you wondering what’s real and what’s all in Daniels’s head. Is he just paranoid, or is the staff really hiding something from him? It’s enjoyably bewildering—and the harder you try to figure it all out, the more you’ll begin to feel as though you, too, could very well be losing your mind.



Granted, Shutter Island isn’t Scorsese’s best film. The story isn’t always entirely surprising (thanks, in a large part, to the film’s spoiler-heavy marketing campaign), and it’s lacking some of the depth and complexity that would have made it a brilliant psychological thriller. Ted’s flashbacks, too, often feel like a frustrating distraction. Still, it’s a gripping film that takes audiences on a fascinating (and unsettling) journey. And Scorsese wraps it all up in a dark and disturbing yet hauntingly satisfying way—one that will give you something to think about as the credits roll.



If you love those haunting classic thrillers, you’ll enjoy puzzling your way through Scorsese’s eerie tribute. Be warned, though, that once you make it to the end, you’ll want to see it again—so you can watch all of the pieces come together.

Share

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

About Post Author

kdk

Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it. Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course. As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com). Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
kdk@nightsandweekends.com
http://www.NightsAndWeekends.com
Happy
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 0 %

kdk

Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.

Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.

As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).

Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.

See author's posts

Categories

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

You may have missed

Road to Perth
  • Melodrama
  • ON FILM

Road to Perth

January 7, 2022
American Siege
  • Cardiac Corner
  • Melodrama
  • ON FILM

American Siege

January 7, 2022
Good as Gold (Whatever After #14)
  • COVER TO COVER
  • Kiddie Lit
  • Listen In...

Good as Gold (Whatever After #14)

January 4, 2022
Just Haven’t Met You Yet
  • Chick Lit
  • COVER TO COVER

Just Haven’t Met You Yet

December 28, 2021

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Pin Posts
  • Privacy
Copyright © All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.