Shutter Island

I almost feel like Martin Scorsese should have been born twenty years later or something. He's certainly impressed me with his older movies, but what he's able to do with the advantages of modern film equipment and techniques is nothing short of amazing. With the help of cinematographer Robert Richardson (who by no real surprise most recently handled the beautiful Inglourious Basterds as well), he's crafted one of the best looking movies I've seen, one that in general is elevated from its potential B-movie status by a sharp script based on a novel by an accomplished author, a great cast of mostly recognizable faces, and excellence in nearly every facet of its production.

The movie isn't perfect, of course. There are a couple missteps. The use of greenscreen is obvious in a few shots (although you wonder a bit if that was intentional to add to the uncertainty of the narrative), and a few lines feel clumsy or melodramatic. Overall though it's a well constructed, tense film that Scorsese seems in control of the entire time despite the somewhat kinetic way in which information is doled out. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a federal marshal named Teddy Daniels assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient at a mental hospital for violent offenders on an island off Massachusetts. He meets his new partner played by Mark Ruffalo on the boat ride over, and from there they soon realize that something is off. The island itself is intensely foreboding, introduced to some of the most sinister music I've ever heard, and it's not long before the marshals start to feel weird about the whole investigation. Ben Kingsley and the other hospital staff seem friendly enough on the surface, but it's clear pretty early that not everything is as it seems. The movie has a twist that I was partly already spoiled on, but it's completely woven into the fabric of the entire film, and it's not so much the surprise of the truth that's interesting but just the way it informs every little thing that happens.

While the normal parts of the story are interesting and well made, the movie stands out the most with its flashbacks to Daniels' experiences during World War II and a couple intense dream sequences that are drenched with amazing imagery and hint strongly at the truth behind everything. He also starts hallucinating at one point, and you're constantly being peppered with little touches that make trying to figure out what's actually going on a constantly entertaining exercise. Despite the certain visual and auditory treats, the movie wouldn't work without a good cast supporting it, and everyone seems to bring their A game. I wasn't sure about DiCaprio at first but he won me over with his reactions to the constantly increasing stress of the situation. Ruffalo is as solid as ever, Kingsley and Max von Sydow are wonderful in their intellectual menace, Michelle Williams is creepily effective in glimpses of Daniels' dead wife, and all the guards and inmates are perfectly leery and off kilter as required.

The story has the appropriate amount of twists and turns before the ending, which is of two parts. First the truth is laid bare, in a scene that might be just a bit too tidy but it ultimately effective mostly because of DiCaprio's performance, and then the plot is finally resolved in just about the perfect fashion. After everything is put together, you can either dwell on the results or think about how well it fits. Considering I was sort of looking for that already, I've already done some of the work, although it definitely still merits a second viewing. I'm not positive every single moment will still make sense, but at least the broad strokes seem to be in order. I expected to like the film, although not to be so impressed by the skill of its creation. Scorsese is definitely getting older, but I'd say his abilities are still pretty far from eroding at this point. It might even be my favorite work of his out of the handful I've seen. If I wasn't already convinced, I definitely have some catching up to do.