By Zac Taylor
Managing Editor
Scorcese and Leo are back together in the uber creepy genre film Shutter Island. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (author of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), rest assured that there will be no rest in the dire and tragic nature of this compelling mystery. Set on an island on the Massachusetts’ coast, the film welcomes you with Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) vomiting in a closet-sized washroom on a boat en route to Shutter Island, accompanied by new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a very dangerous patient. After finding out that the premises is nothing more than an asylum for the criminally insane consisting of three buildings: one for men, one for women, and one extra scary one for the most vicious of inmates…er…patients, an aggressive storm overtakes the island, and a Jurassic Park-like scenario breaks out; the power lines go down, insane criminals run amok, and it rains like hell.
Throughout the film, Teddy is not well. He suffers from migraines, has dreams about his deceased wife, and is often overwhelmed by his hunch that he is being lied to by the entire staff of the asylum, especially head physician Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley). With all of these factors weighing on his brain, he begins to wonder who he can trust: his partner, the patients who know about his past, or even himself.
Why did he have to surrender his gun when we got to the island? How did the serial killer patient disappear through the steel door? Why is everyone so uneasy around him? What goes on inside of the guarded lighthouse? Prepare yourself for some sharp left turns.
The film is not so much scary as it is creepy. Scorcese’s masterful direction and Laeta Kalogridis’ screenplay adaptation of the novel have a merciless grab on the hollow in your chest. While some creative liberties were taken, and some of the action became droning, rainstorm after rainstorm, the film is nonetheless consistently compelling. Excellent performances by DeCaprio, Ruffalo, and Kingsley will make you glad it’s over when it is, but also want to see it again after the many sleight-of-hands.
