Scorsese Embarks on A Journey to The Mysterious Island!

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2015)

As Martin Scorsese's impeccably assembled thriller Shutter Island opens, we see a ferryboat emerging out of a Stygian murk so impenetrable it might well be taking Orpheus to the Underworld. On board are two U.S. Marshals fittingly attired in a trench-coat and fedora - frazzled WWII veteran Teddy Daniels (a resilient performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, delving into the psychological depths of his character) and his affable new partner Chuck Aule (a wonderfully understated Mark Ruffalo) heading towards Shutter Island, a storm-battered, rugged fortress occupied by Ashecliffe hospital, a high-security federal asylum for the criminally insane, where they have been summoned to investigate the disappearance of an delusional, infanticidal inmate Rachel Saldano. Daniels immerses himself into the investigation with unhealthy abandon.
But he has quite a few demons of his own rattling around in his head as his dogged determination is undermined by crippling migraines, disconcerting memories of his recently dead wife Dolores (played with a detached coolness by Michelle Williams) and haunting visions of the horrific scenes he witnessed during wartime. The asylum staff and the patients are equally edgy and disturbing - almost comically sinister, so are the twin leaders of the clinical staff: the courteous but steely Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and the ironic, provocative German, Dr Naehring (Max von Sydow). The paranoid marshal's fractured psyche soon begins to unravel a web of lies and conspiracy as the storm rages outside, and a succession of curious encounters suggest the sanatorium is being used for noxious experiments by the federal government in furtherance of the cold war, and he has been drawn there as an intended victim. But as Teddy's nightmares become indistinguishable from reality, we get a brilliantly constructed psychological thriller that threatens to upend our protagonist's grasp on veracity.
What starts as a locked-room crackerjack mystery soon transforms into a trippy, psychological freak-out as doubts are cast over our protagonists sanity, with enough red herrings and unexpected twists to keep the mind engaged - eager for the next surprise. What Martin Scorsese does best is set the mood, an atmosphere of impending doom. Based on a tightly plotted, willfully schlocky pulp thriller that novelist Dennis Lehane penned, Scorsese injects the movie with an air of ambiguity - every moment is charged with suggestion and, frankly, insanity - forcing you to pay attention. As you are wrapped up in the wonderful characters, disturbing pathos, and taut pacing, Scorsese has fun indulging his cinematic sleight of hand. Scorsese packs the film with so many thrilling details, surreal asides and masterful set-ups that we can't help but enjoy the ride. And the cast is having fun as well, diving into their characters and ladling on the innuendo with arched eyebrows and shifty glances.
Resembling a psychotropic reverie or unhinged fever dream, Shutter Island finds Martin Scorsese at his most technically accomplished as he triumphs with a powerful noir pastiche that sends the audience into a world of psychosis and paranoia. A luridly enjoyable ride!