Movie Review: Shutter Island

Martin Scorcese has used his muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, again to star in the lead role of his new movie, Shutter Island. But after the viewing of this film, I hope this is one duo that is about to end their several year relationship.Scorcese has his choice of working with some of the best actors in the biz, so why did he choose DiCaprio?

DiCaprio took on the role of Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshal that is headed to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. With a hurricane brewing, Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule, played by a surprisingly convincing Mark Ruffalo, take the ferry into an isolated island to capture Rachel Solando, a patient that had strangely escaped from her cell. The two Marshals are forced to work along with the hospital’s main man, the un-cooperative Dr. Cawley, played by Ben Kingsley. To him, everyone is a possible patient, and he seems to have the whole staff and patient population wrapped around his finger. So when the hurricane hits and tears down the walls that keep in the insane patients, everyone’s secrets are finally revealed.

Insanity, betrayal and mystery crowd the storyline of this movie, leaving the audience on their toes as the twists and turns of the plot unveil themselves.

Compared to his previous movies like The Departed and Gangs of New York, it seems as if Scorcese is losing his touch with age. If this is any sign of what is to come, I would suggest saving your money for rentals. His work is impressive compared to several other directors he competes with, but this was not the best film on his resume.

The film contains several continuity problems, which is distracting and disappointing at the same time. For someone with such a history and brilliance in the film industry, Scorcese shouldn’t have made so many small mistakes. It was like experiencing an amateur director’s first time on a big budget film.

The character Teddy Daniels seems to be a fairly complex person, but when acted out by DiCaprio as a short tempered and violent person, he comes across as one big joke. His insensitivity to his recent roles shows that he may have lost his touch for his craft, and this is greatly shown in Shutter Island.

However, one person that did not disappoint, even though his scene was a mere five minutes, was Jackie Earle Haley. His performance looked like he was the professional amidst newcomers.

The film had the possibility to be great, but it just didn’t come close.

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