An Unforgettable Visit to Shutter Island

From the minute I saw the opening credits of this film, I had a big smile on my face. The big, menacing score playing over as we enter through the gates of a creepy mental institution, only confirms that we are in the authoritative hands of an old master, Martin Scorsese. He knows how to use film as a medium to create a deep emotional impact in the viewer.

“Shutter Island,” based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, is set in 1954 on a island off the Boston coast. From among the foggy ocean a ship carrying two U.S Marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), heads towards a mental institution for the criminally insane on Shutter Island. Their job is to investigate the disappearance of a prisoner, Rachel Solondo (Emily Mortimer). During their investigation they are greeted with reluctance from the hospital staff, including the head medical director, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley). Teddy soon believes that something is not right about this investigation. During his inquiry, Teddy starts to get massive headaches which trigger haunting dreams about his dead wife, Dolores (Michelle Williams).

Scorsese does a brilliant job of setting up an atmosphere of paranoia and dread. The cinematography by Robert Richardson is terrific at creating a beautiful fantasy dream landscape and the dour colors on Shutter Island. Look at the way Scorsese uses point of view shots to set up the paranoia emotions of Teddy. The editing, by the great Thelma Schoonmaker, is sensational at throwing the audience off its axis. A scene involving a patient drinking a glass of water will have your mind guessing what you just saw.

The images that Scorsese and his team create are simply gorgeous to behold on-screen. The dream sequences are shot in rich colors, which stand in stark contrast to the reality of the prison walls. I was carried away by the simple, entrancing imagery of papers endlessly floating around a room in one scene. Another hauntingly beautiful dream involves DiCaprio holding his wife in his arms as she turns into a pile of ashes. These dream scenes are important in providing insight into the film’s narrative.

I saw this film twice, and the second time around I took notice of how great DiCaprio’s performance is in this film. This is without a doubt, his best performance to date. There are times, when his performance almost brought me to tears. He is a man who loves his dead wife with a passion and love that is completely believable. You see the heartbreak, pain in his eyes when he looks on at his wife. There are a group of other great performances in this film as well. Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow, as another doctor at the institution, are great at bordering the ambiguity of good and evil. Emily Mortimer is appropriately crazy without over doing it. Jackie Earle Haley and Patricia Clarkson are very memorable in their brief moments on-screen.

Other than being a master at creating a dark atmosphere, Scorsese is experimenting with narrative here. At the end of the film, we ask ourselves what is the truth? Who are we to believe? There’s going to be a lot of talk about the ending and I can see how it could throw some people off. I was so drawn into the picture, that I was thrown off a bit when the ending arrived. There is too much explanation about what’s been occurring. I would have liked to have had some more ambiguity surrounding the conclusion. However, after seeing the film a second time, the ending didn’t bother me as much. There is whole new dimension to the story once you know the ending.

Whatever issue I had with the ending during my first viewing, I must admit that I was emotionally and mentally blown away by it. I was literally hunched over in my seat, my eyes glued to the screen. I can’t remember the last time a film had such a strong emotional impact on me. I did not want to leave the theatre as the credits played. When I left the theatre, I literally left in an almost trance like state.

If this film had been made as a standard horror/thriller film, it would have been easily forgotten. Scorsese, with his team of actors and technical crew, rises above the story’s familiar trappings. He has crafted a film that is a tragic examination of a man living with guilt and trauma. This is certainly the best film of this early year. The rest of the movies to be released this year have a lot to live up to.

5 stars

One of the reasons why I didn’t want to leave during the credits is because of a haunting, beautiful song played over the credit reel. The song was a combination of “This Bitter Earth” with a piece music called “On the Nature of Daylight.” Never before have a song and film fit so perfectly together.