Martin Scorsese. American legend. Extraordinary filmmaker.
You cannot even begin to discuss the history of American cinema without this man as a key player. His journey has been a long one since his 1970s beginnings. Only two weeks ago I highlighted one of his milestones, but lets bring things up to speed with his newest work, "Shutter Island."
Scorsese amazes me on how versatile he truly can be. Gangster pics, music documentaries, comedy, biopics and thrillers are a few of the broad genres he has covered at one point in time. Returning to the thrillers with "Shutter Island" feels outside of even this man's realm of film.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshal chasing a case in the illustrious prison/psychiatric ward known as Shutter Island. Mark Ruffalo joins him as his new partner Chuck Aule. The two delve deeper into a missing person case and find that Shutter Island is much darker and ominous than the façade reveals.
A dark past haunts the grounds and Teddy himself. All characters come to a head in a truly mindbending climax. Sorry for being so vague, but it's a thriller. Deal with it. Actually, go see it.
It is a very well-constructed story with great acting all around. The supporting cast really does shine around Leo. Jackie Earle Haley of "Watchman" fame even carries a scene. His single scene performance is one to remember. Leo as usual proves his evolution beyond his boyish charms and characters of old.
His chilling last line of the film might seem a tad cliché, but I didn't care. It pulled my heartstrings, leaving my head spinning at who this character was and how he evolved.
This is the point where I have to shut my mouth to avoid any spoilers because to really deal with the character here, you have to talk about it after already seeing the film. Simply put, he is a World War II veteran dealing with all sorts of post-traumatic stresses; not a healthy mindset for a Marshal.
Scorsese's direction is true to form, with great camera work and even better editing. The flashes and psychological style of the film's editing grew on me. I found certain shots and flashes to be extremely effective in building confusion and uneasiness, especially one scene involving a water glass. The period nature of the film, taking place in 1950s Boston harbor, is well designed with a feel evoking the time.
The film does lose its momentum and manages to fall flat in several spots. The beginning setup feels very dragged out, especially since the trailer only takes 30 seconds to establish the same plot line.
Scorsese's use of flashbacks has bothered me in the past with "Gangs of New York" and again he overuses them. This time they are very stylized and nightmarish, but they interrupt scenes at strange times. The dialogue pulls the movie down too. It isn't the dialogue itself, but the use of constant talking scenes to push the plot forward feels drawn out and poorly written. Action should drive a movie like this, not long speeches.
My final problem is the entire last section of the film. I should call it the final act, but it lingers entirely too long to be a proper third act. The climactic reveal lasts too long, around 10 minutes. Then the film continues to roll after all is seen, just in case the two hours of sitting there didn't feel like enough.
I don't hate the film. I like it quite a bit for the psychology and themes that it raises. I can't consider this Scorsese's best though.
I can't deny its popularity either. It raked in the most for a Scorsese opening ever: $41 million.
Overall, I would recommend it as a matinee or DVD rental. It is clear why the film got bumped to after award season, making room for more worthy films.
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