A U.S Marshall investigates a mysterious island for an escaped prisoner only to find out darker secrets lie within.

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2014)

Right off the bat this film is perhaps one of the most intricate I have seen. All viewers are in for major plot twists and a spiralling journey down the world of the criminally insane. DiCaprio unites again with legendary director Martin Scorsese to deliver an excellent performance as a U.S Marshall haunted by a mysterious tragedy. Mark Ruffalo joins DiCaprio as a new Marshall from Seattle, aiding him in the search to locate a missing patient from Ashcliffe Sanitarium located on the eerie Shutter Island. The weather in this film is essential in giving it a dreading, uneasy and very haunting appearance. The use of rain and dark imagery really emphasize the morbid presence the film bears. Although this film is a staple in any psychological thriller collection, it has it's flaws. Many of the shots that include driving look very unrealistic and DiCaprio loses his Boston accent multiple times throughout the film. Other than those minor details the film remains a mind-blowing adventure. This is one of those films that switches plots after the initial plot is solved. After the 'missing patient' is discovered back in her cell, unscathed by the treacherous island, the Marshalls begin to suspect there are other things going on at Ashcliffe. After beginning to suspect the sanitarium is part of a government mind-control conspiracy, the Marshalls begin to realize they were meant to come here as victims of government experiments. This is where the movie's web weaves itself more and more as the true darkness of the island is slowly unveiled. DiCaprio's character begins to realize similarities between some of the patients at the island to his own life and he is also plagued by flashbacks of his deceased wife. The climax of the film that really explodes is when DiCaprio goes to rescue his partner from 'the lighthouse' where the mind experiments supposedly occur. The doctor and his partner are waiting for him in the lighthouse and explain that everything that has happened was set up and staged to help DiCaprio release himself from his past trauma. This is the point where everything you have seen crumbles down and unveils an explanation for everything that has occurred. This is where I just sat back and said "Whoa". The huge plot twist at the end really en-ravels the viewer into the story and leaves you immersed in the uncertainty of the situation. The movie's ending has epic proportion, where DiCaprio's character chooses to die as a good man, rather than his former self which really shows the moral fibre of his heroic character and how his understanding and acceptance of reality has finally allowed him to achieve peace.