‘Shutter’ thrills as events unfold

Written by Alejandro Montalvo

Martin Scorsese makes two types of films: great films and classic films. Shutter Island is a great film, meaning that it isn’t a Scorsese classic, but is still far superior to the trash that fills the screens in the theater.

Scorsese is at a point in his career where his successes outweigh his failures. Since 2000, he has not made an unsuccessful film, further proving his astonishing mastership of the cinematic craft. At the 2007 Academy Awards ceremony, Scorsese finally received a long overdue Best Director Oscar for The Departed. That being said, the anticipation for his latest film, Shutter Island, has been intense.

Shutter Island is not a scary film. The trailers and TV spots market it like a typical horror film, but it is far superior than the average horror flick. The film is about two Federal Marshalls who are investigating the disappearance of a violent patient at a psychiatric hospital on an island. However, like the trailers suggest, there is something else at work, morphing the story as it progresses.

Shutter Island plays more like a 1950s Hitchcock thriller, with storytelling conventions from that style. The symbolism is not hard to understand, nor is it shy and masked. Flashbacks and walking hallucinations compliment the inner turmoil brewing inside the main character, Teddy.

Leonardo DiCaprio, further proving he is more than just a pretty face, plays Teddy with the kind of madness that garners Oscar nominations. Had this film been released on its original release date, back in October, DiCaprio would have gotten an Oscar nomination. Sir Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson and Max Von Sydow all give outstanding performances that mold the atmosphere of Shutter Island.

Those who pay attention will know the twist before it comes, but this does not necessarily ruin the film. The thrill comes in watching how the events unfold. The twist isn’t that far-fetched, but is still satisfying and provides closure. Hitchcock would have been proud.

Critics of the film have already lambasted it for being too simple and sub-par by Scorsese standards. But even a foul-up of a film by Scorsese can still entertain most audiences. It will be interesting to see if anti-smoking advocates will attack this film, for there is a ton of smoking. Gore and violence are also prominent, as this is a Scorsese film after all. The war scene flashbacks and hallucinations are fairly graphic, leaving little to the imagination. But the blatant presence of violence only compliments the themes of the film.

Shutter Island is a synergetic meet between old-school film-making and modern-day storytelling as seen through the eyes of an auteur with cinema in his blood.

Verdict: B+