The Mind as Prison

Rating: 10/10 (10 June 2010)

Too rarely are we offered films that are so well written (Laeta Kalogidis does a marvelous adaptation of Dennis Lahane's mesmerizing novel) that after viewing the audience is almost afraid to leave the theater or home screen for fear they may have missed some important information that will help them figure out why the story is so successfully enigmatic. Such is the case for Martin Scorsese's brilliant film, SHUTTER ISLAND. It is only in retrospect, after the shock of the film is over, that the magic of quality cinematic achievement can be appreciated. Then in rethinking the events the film portrays so well the story is as straightforward as Scorsese's vision.
The film opens in 1954 nothingness - from out of the fog slowly appears a ship headed toward Shutter Island, a terrifying prison for the criminally insane, and almost incidentally we meet US Federal Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) emetically cloistered in a ship's lavatory while his newly assigned partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) awkwardly waits for him on deck. The two are on a mission to investigate the escape of a female prisoner. They are greeted by curious wardens who escort them onto the terrifyingly ugly and ominous island to meet with the famous psychiatrist Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow). Curious restrictions are placed on the Marshals who decide to return to Boston because of lack of cooperation from the psychiatrists. A hurricane prevents their exit and slowly the story unwinds: Daniels is haunted by memories of his war experience in viewing the concentration camps in Dachau and delusion of his wife Dolores (Michelle Williams) in nightmares he cannot explain. The various aspects of the Marshals' investigation lead them to all of the compounds where prisoners are kept and treated and surgically altered and the terror mounts. To tell more of the story of one man's descent in to madness would distract from the viewer's own grappling with the conundrum of this tale. It must be seen to appreciate the brilliance of the story.
In addition to superb performances by DiCaprio, Ruffalo, Kingsley, von Sydow, and Williams there are astonishing well crafted cameos by Patricia Clarkson, Elias Koteas, Emily Mortimer, John Carroll Lynch and a very large cast of bit players. The cinematography is superbly crafted by Robert Richardson. The music score for this moody piece is a montage of works by such brilliant composers as György Ligeti, Krzystof Penderecki, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Schnittke, Lou Harrison, John Adams and even Gustav Mahler whose rarely heard 'Quartet for Piano and Strings in A minor' plays a significant role in the film. On all accounts this is a superb film. Why it did not do well in the theatrical run is puzzling: perhaps it is a long film that is way ahead of its time. Watch it on DVD and become absorbed by all the bizarre mysteries it captures.
Grady Harp