Intense, pure Scorsese

Rating: Null/10 (18 July 2012)

Martin Scorsese has always had the ability to pull his viewers in. His movies usually take place in a tormentingly bleak and familiar modern world, mixed in with small hints of grandeur, exotic and downright unfamiliar. Like so in this case as well. Shutter Island has a familiar feel to it. The idea of a mental asylum has been deeply ingrained into our collective cultural psyche and Scorsese uses that, presenting us an island that's both a cliché and something terrifyingly new. The colours are just a bit off, the characters sometimes step away from the roles that we have given them in our heads, the plot doesn't dance to the pipe that we all expect to hear. It's a harrowing experience at times, which is exactly the reason that makes the movie so interesting. The movie constantly throws us questions that we start to answer from our experience with these kinds of movies, but then we realize that the answer doesn't fit and we are left feeling lost and intrigued.
Not to say that all of the twists are completely unexpected or even that original. It's a thriller after all and some genre conventions are still being respected, lovingly I might add. Scorsese has the ability to raise the ante, make us question our decisions and expectations, and at the same time make us guess and ponder about the case. Which makes for a great thriller. Add in some really nice acting, very nice editing and cinematography and a score that's just right for the mood, and you have in your hands an excellent film. Though I personally didn't care for the constant flashbacks as I thought that they broke the mood, but afterwards I could see their purpose, so my singular big complaint was reduced to a nitpick.
All in all not Scorsese's best film, but a great piece of film-making, nonetheless. It's everything that a thriller should be and keeps surprising its viewers all the way to the end.