Shutter Island (2009)

It was a dark and stormy night … This is probably how best to sum up Martin Scorsese latest film.
 
Adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River) it tells the story of Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), a US Marshall, who arrives on Shutter Island with fellow Marshall Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), to investigate the apparent disappearance of a dangerous female patient, Rachel Solando, from a locked room within the institution for the criminally insane situated on the Island.
 
Whilst their presence seems to be welcomed, their investigation is stymied by those in charge of the Institution, including Dr Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who seem only willing to co-operate with Teddy's investigations up to a point. It also becomes apparent that Teddy has his own ulterior motive, related to his own troubled past, for being on the Island.
 
From here on in the film quickly starts to ask questions of the viewer and Teddy: Was it really his choice to take the case or has he, as Chuck opines, been 'duped' and is he only on the Island because they wanted him there? What are the Doctors hiding? Where is Rachel Solando? Who is patient 67? As his own headaches and visions and flashbacks increase and the film heads towards its climax, it’s Teddy who starts to question whether or not it is he who is actually starting to go insane.
 
This is a different kind of film from what we've come to expect from Scorcese, and is certainly the most commercial and mainstream film of his career. It is essentially a film noir-ish mystery centered on the psychological machinations of a lead character who is seeking the truth of his situation. It's packed full of twists and turns, and includes enough visual and verbal clues to assist the more astute in the audience in unraveling the mystery.
 
The film looks fantastic, due in huge part to Robert Richardson’s cinematography and use of a muted colour pallet. Robbie Robertson overseas a score and soundtrack which adds to the haunting and oppressive feel of the story, and Scorsese elicits the kind of solid performances from his cast that you'd expect from a director of his caliber. 
 
If the film has a problem, it is that it could do with at least 20 minutes trimmed off its running time as it is not as taut as it should be, a fact helped in no way by the inclusion of some overly long exposition scenes which suck all the pace and tension out of the film.  However, despite this, by the time the end credits came round I was left feeling entertained and wanting to see the film again, if only to count off the clues that I missed first time around.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer
Certificate: 15
DVD Runtime: 133 minutes (approx.)
Release date: 2 August 2010
DVD RRP: £19.99
Blu-ray RRP: £26.99

Scott Vine, CC, Legal Blogger

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