It's all about perspective, putting you in the head-space of the protagonist and making you feel how he feels, and it works wonders.

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2017)

'Shutter Island (2010)' is a film entirely about perspective, and the first time I watched the picture I was so immersed into the perspective of the protagonist - who's point of view is intrinsically inseparable from the narrative and integral to the success of its various reveals - that I was totally swept up and taken along for the ride, made to dance like a marionette to the thriller's tightly-timed and twisty tune, so much so that I was completely in sync with DiCaprio's increasingly disheveled detective and experienced all the same emotional beats that he did, ranging from fear and confusion to sadness and even denial, which meant that I was captivated and totally board no matter how outlandish or somewhat confusing certain aspects may have seemed; I've now seen it twice, however, and the second viewing was a very different experience as, while our perspective isn't entirely out of sync with that of the protagonist, the knowledge of what's to come provides a slightly different point-of-view that makes even something as simple as a sideways glance into something altogether more monumental and, while this time around inevitably isn't as impactful as the first as it exposes a number of issues such as some second-act pacing issues, it holds up remarkably well under the scrutiny of examination afforded by the separation of audience and character that occurs once you know the flick's final hand, while still being surprisingly emotionally resonant too. 8/10