Shutter Island: A Review of the Martin Scorsese Film

Shutter Island (mild spoilers)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Phoenix Films
Release Date: February 19, 2010
Historical Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Rated: R
Runtime: 138 min.

Film Synopsis:
In 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner, Chuck Aule, go to the Ashecliff Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island. They are investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient who vanished from a locked room. Dr. John Cawley, the head psychiatrist, explains that Rachel was institutionalized after drowning her three children. She believes, however, that she is still home and that her children are still alive.

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

Shutter Island, a mysterious thriller based on a Dennis Lehane novel, has been getting a lot of buzz because of the names attached. Assistant Editor of She Never Slept – J R Wright – saw a special screening of this flick that included a follow-up Q&A with the screenwriter. This review has mild spoilers, so be forewarned. I know that this has been added to the list of films I would like to see, my curioustly has been aroused. So, without further ado, here are her thoughts on the film and event. Enjoy my fiends!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert.

The third book of Dennis Lehane has recently been adapted into a Scorsese film, Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, and Mark Ruffalo. The previous books of Lehane’s that were adapted resulted in the films Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River. The trailer had my attention piqued, and I formed immediate opinions of what the movie would be about. I was not disappointed; my twisted mind instantly knew what the plot would entail. I went into the theater hoping that it would prove me wrong, with such a strong director and lead actor, as a Scorsese film it must be impeccable in its storytelling prowess, no? However, I was not proven wrong, and it was exactly as I had predicted. The premise is of a Federal Marshall visiting an island that boasts to have the most criminally insane people in the country harbored on it; set after WWII, in the height of the most sadistic era in psychological treatment ever. The plot twist could only be of one or two things- either he was already a delusional patient, or he was to become the next experiment. The protagonist was indeed a mental patient within the facility and everything that occurred was in his head. While this had a bit more ambitious exposition than most of the psychological thrillers of this type in the past, I still was not thwarted.

One of the best opening lines of the film was spoken by DiCaprio’s character Teddy in response to the slew of advisements he was given upon arriving: “You act like insanity is contagious.” The soundtrack seemed overly foreboding in the beginning, almost prompting you to yell “WTF” becoming so annoyingly loud you were compelled to cover your ears, and then it stops. Brief moments of doubt occurred during the second act when it seemed he had found out the truth but the truth was only his version of the truth, and thus not the truth at all. The movie was long, and while evenly paced throughout, the pacing was terribly monotone. I have never in my life outside of my home been tempted to snooze through a movie, but I did have some moments of head bobbing in this one. It was a great film in all essence of what it was trying to achieve, in its Hitchcockian contrived suspense, but all it really made me yearn for was to read the book.

However, what was really telling was the after screening Q & A with Laeta Kilogridis. She is quite the sharp witted lady, who is responsible for penning the scripts for Alexander, Night Watch, and worked with James Cameron as a producer on Avatar. Kilogridis broke down some essential moments of the film with great candor revealing parts of the process of getting the film adapted from the book. Her main position was that she didn’t want to retell the book insomuch as she wanted to convey the same feeling that she got when she read it. Obviously, there were many aspects that were different, but she insists on the idea was to convey the emotions evoked during the book, not actually every detail of the source material. Kilogridis explored through the visual topography of the island the idea of the descent into the mind using the different wards to delve into the id, ego, and superego of the character, and even used the lighthouse as the place of the level of enlightenment that the character is forced to come to terms with. It was a great study in cognitive behavioral therapy. Her bold change of the ending that Lehane wrote in the book was meant to invoke a type of philosophical thought that would elicit a moment of pause to the viewer, to maybe ask themselves the same question about how they would want to live.

I felt that this movie was much more of a think piece than it was a suspense thriller. The almost stream of consciousness progression was easy to absorb. The most amazing part of this film is hands down, the dream sequences, which were the best in the history of filmmaking to date. They were executed without flaw, in perfect timing, and conveyed much of the necessary expository character development that was lacking in the rest of the film. In fact, because of the dream sequences, further exposition was hardly needed. Above all the best performance was by Michelle Williams, who gave every psychotic female character in the history of film a genuine run for their money in how truly believable she was. This was not our little Jen from Dawson’s creek anymore.

Final Thoughts:
I would recommend this as a must see- but not just once- twice, and maybe three times. As for me, I am going to grab the book first thing in the morning. I give this film a 4 out of 5.

J R Wright – Assistant Editor/Reviewer