Mediocre at best

Rating: 7/10 (4 March 2010)

It's 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his sidekick Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are on the ferry to Shutter Island. The island could be Alcatraz, except that instead of criminals, it houses the criminally insane. One of their inmates has apparently escaped, and Daniels and Aule have been sent to investigate. But the investigator turns out to be the one being investigated.
Shutter Island gets off to a fairly good start. It does a competent job of building the apparently normal, but-you-know-something-is-going-on atmosphere. Ben Kingsley is nice and creepy as the frosty psychiatrist Dr. Cawley. You just know that he and his team are hiding a Dark Secret. However, it quickly goes downhill, and like Daniels, I was also searching for a way to abandon the island at the half-way point. It picks up again in the second half, but just around the point where you think it's going to get interesting, you realise you've seen it all before. That said, even though the dénouement is predictable, it's done well enough to stick with to the end.
Acting-wise, the only one worth watching is Ben Kingsley. He plays the ambiguous Dr. Cawley to perfection, and sent a little shiver down my spine each time he appeared on screen. Leonardo DiCaprio never rises above his usual 'Hello I'm Leonardo DiCaprio playing a character in a film' performance (apologies to his fans, but I just don't rate him) and Mark Ruffalo as the sidekick is unremarkable.
It's 20 years since Scorcese made Goodfellas (1990), 22 years since 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (1988), 30 years on from 'Raging Bull' (1980) and 34 years since 'Taxi Driver' (1976). I can't help feeling he's losing his touch. This has all the hallmarks of a film churned out just because those concerned needed to make a bit of money.
Shutter Island is at best mediocre. There's nothing new or original in it. Go see 'A Beautiful Mind' instead.