A Federal Marshal and his new partner travel to a psychiatric hospital on an island in search of a missing patient

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2014)

Federal Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule have been given a new case. A woman has disappeared from a hospital for the criminally insane. When he and his partner arrive, they meet the head doctor, and they see the former patient's room. After noticing multiple inconsistencies, and the nurses and guards refuse to allow Daniels to see certain information about the patients, suspicion arises. As he tries to investigate further, Daniels experiences multiple flashbacks, both to his World War II encounter while liberating a concentration camp and his late wife. As the story continues, more and more questions arise, and the answers will be hard to find.
When I first saw the trailers and posters for this film, I thought it was a horror movie. It takes place mostly on a mysterious island, there is a mental hospital, and the lone still of a frail patient putting a finger to her mouth were enough to create this preconception. I have never been a huge fan of the horror movie genre. I can appreciate a film that incorporates shocking images to add to the story, but I feel like many horror flicks are simply made with the sole purpose of making its viewers wet their pants, Contrary to my previous thought, this movie is in fact not necessarily a horror movie. It may qualify as one to some people, but I found it to be more of a psychological thriller. Also, a twist ending, when executed properly, can earn my respect any day. I have found that the duo between Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese has produced many of our modern classics. Usually associated with the gangster sub-genre, Scorsese wanted to create a film that incorporated some of his favorite aspects of many thriller genre movies. The story does a fantastic job of portraying the human mind's wild nature, and how it can change how we see the world. Leonardo DiCaprio does a great job of showcasing the emotional aspects of his character, Sir Ben Kingsley does a fine job of creating a character that is both trustworthy and suspicious, and Mark Ruffalo's character also makes the audience unsure of what he is thinking. Though this film was not recognized by the Academy, I have found this to be one of my favorite thriller movies, and favorite horror-type film as well. Now I must warn you, this is a rated R film, and it is deservedly so. The violence and graphic images are pretty intense. That's my warning, and I hope that you take that into account before seeing this film.
While I see that it is necessary to show the intense images in order to understand Teddy's experiences and how the other characters act, they did not quite sit right in my stomach.
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