After 20 feature films, one of cinemas most respected and esteemed directors is back. Leonardo DiCaprio, on his 4th collaboration with the man says, ‘that in thousands of years, people studying film will look back on a name that has become synonymous with it.’ That name is Martin Scorsese. Simply put, he is possibly the greatest living director still working today. Although he has directed a variety of seminal films and documentaries, it is with perhaps the gangster genre he is most readily identified with. However, looking closer there is perhaps a more relavant theme throughout his works. And that theme is just how fragile the mind is. This is perhaps none more relevant than in his 21st offering here.
Adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane (writer of ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Gone Baby Gone’) ‘Shutter Island’ is an intense and sometimes devastating journey inside the fractured psychosis of the human mind. Set in the mid 50’s it centres on DiCaprio’s US Marshall, Teddy Daniels’ investigation into the case of a missing patient on an island, housing dangerous psychopaths and criminals. No one here is prepared to talk and both Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) can find no allibies. To make matters worse Head Psychiatrist, Dr Cawley (Ben Kinglsey) and almost everyone else on the island seem to be covering up potential information and housing some dark secrets….. To reveal more about the plot would do a great disservice to both DiCaprio and Scorsese, not to mention screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis for expertly weaving an intense psychological thriller.
What I can say, is that with every collaboration Scorsese and DiCaprio seem to be besting their last, and this is no exception. From DiCaprios performance here, it is easy to see why he has become Scosese’s new muse. It is quite possibly his best performance to date; one that balances raw anger, heartbreaking emotion and sanity loss - sometimes all at once and you may not even know what he’s actually doing for most of the films running time. It’s very courageous on his behalf. Why Paramount moved the picture outside of the Oscar nominations is anyones guess-in a perfect world, DiCaprio would have been walking home with the little gold man on March 7th. Partly in fact why the movie succeeds as well as it does is down to its cast. As mentioned, DiCaprio yet again excels, but is joined ably by Ruffalo, who while not at first seems to be doing much, is in fact housing far more complex emotions and nuances in his performance. Kingsley as well gives another solid turn which is pretty much to be expected from the ‘Sir’ with almost anything he does these days. Michelle Williams make great use of her limited screen time with one scene in particular that leaves you reeling. Also nice to see genre favourites Ted Levine and John Carroll Lynch popping up, actors who just by their history in similarly themed movies, you can tell that something is not quite right.
This might not be the straight forward exercise in terror as some might have originally hoped from its trailers. No, while there are plenty of deranged inmates to terrorise both DiCaprio and Ruffalo (one dark and nighmarish scene in Block C springs to mind), it is actually the unstable mind and it how it can be the most fragile of all things that Scorsese is interested in. This shares themes with many of the mans movies ranging from ‘Taxi Driver’ all the way up to the recent ‘The Aviator’. So sure, from the outset, this might seem to be new ground for Scorsese, but come the climax, there is no doubt you were in anyone else’s hands but his. Unfortunately, the films climax, while earth shattering in its effectiveness is not as clever as you might have been led to believe and for some might be considered a little cheap. The film can also be quite cold and emotionless for most of its running time. Scorsese employs a radical cutting technique with his editor Thelma Schoonmaker, which harks back to her work on ‘Goodfellas’, ‘The King of Comedy’ and ‘Bringing Out The Dead’. Of course you have to know Scorsese to know that you’re in experienced hands and that all is there for a reason that will eventually pay off. This might not work as well for the less patient viewer. Other problems include the fact that various characters seem to come and go throughout the film, (hello and goodbye Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley) although this can be down to the films climax and is therefore debatable. Scorsese has more than enough flair and confidence to keep us watching, though make no mistake, ‘Shutter Island’ deals with some intense and tough themes. Scorsese does not make it easy on the viewer from its many weird dream sequences, fractured editing and plotting that may seem ‘all over the place’ to some.
However, Scorsese delivers a far deeper film than the one I was initially expecting. Robbie Robertson (of The Band) and Scorsese hand picked various previously established score music from various different sources and the effect is stunning-the images and many of the music themes work beautifully together. Cinematographer Robert Richardson also creates a blue hued dystopia-creating some of the most beautiful, and disturbing imagery of Scorsese’s career. So what it may come down to is a basic mystery, thriller. Scorsese and DiCaprio elevate it above its genre confines to the 1st great film of 2010.
Result: 81%
You may not know where it is taking you for most of its running time but by its heart wrenching and devastating climax you will know there is only one master.
Adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane (writer of ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Gone Baby Gone’) ‘Shutter Island’ is an intense and sometimes devastating journey inside the fractured psychosis of the human mind. Set in the mid 50’s it centres on DiCaprio’s US Marshall, Teddy Daniels’ investigation into the case of a missing patient on an island, housing dangerous psychopaths and criminals. No one here is prepared to talk and both Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) can find no allibies. To make matters worse Head Psychiatrist, Dr Cawley (Ben Kinglsey) and almost everyone else on the island seem to be covering up potential information and housing some dark secrets….. To reveal more about the plot would do a great disservice to both DiCaprio and Scorsese, not to mention screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis for expertly weaving an intense psychological thriller.
What I can say, is that with every collaboration Scorsese and DiCaprio seem to be besting their last, and this is no exception. From DiCaprios performance here, it is easy to see why he has become Scosese’s new muse. It is quite possibly his best performance to date; one that balances raw anger, heartbreaking emotion and sanity loss - sometimes all at once and you may not even know what he’s actually doing for most of the films running time. It’s very courageous on his behalf. Why Paramount moved the picture outside of the Oscar nominations is anyones guess-in a perfect world, DiCaprio would have been walking home with the little gold man on March 7th. Partly in fact why the movie succeeds as well as it does is down to its cast. As mentioned, DiCaprio yet again excels, but is joined ably by Ruffalo, who while not at first seems to be doing much, is in fact housing far more complex emotions and nuances in his performance. Kingsley as well gives another solid turn which is pretty much to be expected from the ‘Sir’ with almost anything he does these days. Michelle Williams make great use of her limited screen time with one scene in particular that leaves you reeling. Also nice to see genre favourites Ted Levine and John Carroll Lynch popping up, actors who just by their history in similarly themed movies, you can tell that something is not quite right.
This might not be the straight forward exercise in terror as some might have originally hoped from its trailers. No, while there are plenty of deranged inmates to terrorise both DiCaprio and Ruffalo (one dark and nighmarish scene in Block C springs to mind), it is actually the unstable mind and it how it can be the most fragile of all things that Scorsese is interested in. This shares themes with many of the mans movies ranging from ‘Taxi Driver’ all the way up to the recent ‘The Aviator’. So sure, from the outset, this might seem to be new ground for Scorsese, but come the climax, there is no doubt you were in anyone else’s hands but his. Unfortunately, the films climax, while earth shattering in its effectiveness is not as clever as you might have been led to believe and for some might be considered a little cheap. The film can also be quite cold and emotionless for most of its running time. Scorsese employs a radical cutting technique with his editor Thelma Schoonmaker, which harks back to her work on ‘Goodfellas’, ‘The King of Comedy’ and ‘Bringing Out The Dead’. Of course you have to know Scorsese to know that you’re in experienced hands and that all is there for a reason that will eventually pay off. This might not work as well for the less patient viewer. Other problems include the fact that various characters seem to come and go throughout the film, (hello and goodbye Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley) although this can be down to the films climax and is therefore debatable. Scorsese has more than enough flair and confidence to keep us watching, though make no mistake, ‘Shutter Island’ deals with some intense and tough themes. Scorsese does not make it easy on the viewer from its many weird dream sequences, fractured editing and plotting that may seem ‘all over the place’ to some.
However, Scorsese delivers a far deeper film than the one I was initially expecting. Robbie Robertson (of The Band) and Scorsese hand picked various previously established score music from various different sources and the effect is stunning-the images and many of the music themes work beautifully together. Cinematographer Robert Richardson also creates a blue hued dystopia-creating some of the most beautiful, and disturbing imagery of Scorsese’s career. So what it may come down to is a basic mystery, thriller. Scorsese and DiCaprio elevate it above its genre confines to the 1st great film of 2010.
Result: 81%
You may not know where it is taking you for most of its running time but by its heart wrenching and devastating climax you will know there is only one master.
Martin Scorsese Career Overview and Film Trailer:
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