Sometimes a big twist isn't enough

Rating: 5/10 (13 July 2010)

We have seen before that a big twist at the end can make an otherwise ordinary film into something much greater. Think The Sixth Sense. But we have also seen that relying on a final big twist to save your movie can be a dicey proposition. Because if your big twist doesn't have as powerful an impact as you would hope your movie falls flat. Think M. Night Shyamalan films other than The Sixth Sense. Sadly Shutter Island falls into that trap. The ending doesn't satisfy and certainly doesn't redeem all that came before it. Because so much of what came before is rather mundane. But you hold out hope because you know the story is building towards some kind of big revelation. It has to, this is a movie which screams "Twist!" from its very beginning. This was never a story which was going to play out in a straightforward, conventional manner. So for whatever disappointment you may feel as the movie progresses the hope is still there that there will be a big ending to save the day. But alas that is not to be the case. The movie fizzles out. The ending, really the whole movie, turns out to be a dud.
Now of course Martin Scorsese is not a man prone to churning out duds. So how did this all go so wrong? Maybe it's a case of a story trying to be too smart for its own good. It's a puzzle in which not all of the pieces end up fitting together properly. We start with an interesting setup. Two U.S. Marshals are sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. The fact that this hospital is located on an island essentially cut off from the world ratchets up the intrigue and suspense. But right from the start you get the sense this movie's messing with your head. Something's not right. Somebody's hiding something. Somehow everything seems just a bit off. Is it the location? The characters? Whatever it is there's a great sense of mystery, the possibility of great discovery. But the movie never pays off that initial promise. Eventually you get the sense you are destined to be let down. And in the end you are.
Leonardo DiCaprio does the best he can with the lead role of Marshal Teddy Daniels. Whatever failings the film has can't be laid at DiCaprio's feet. He is utterly convincing. But the story is not. There are plenty of fine performers to support DiCaprio. Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow and Michelle Williams all play their parts well and there is room for some fine work from other actors in smaller roles. But ultimately the fine cast is let down by the story. The story is the big problem. There are other problems too. The overbearing musical score comes to mind. But it is undoubtedly the story which dooms the movie. When the final piece falls into place you look back and realize the story's not nearly as smart as it needed to be. The end result is an utterly ordinary movie. It's one of those movies which demands a second viewing to really see how all the pieces come together. But it's not an interesting enough movie to make you care enough to go back and watch it again. Once is enough. A second viewing isn't likely to enhance your appreciation any. You can look back, put it all together in your mind, and realize it just doesn't work. Scorsese has made such a brilliant career for himself with tough, gritty, urban dramas. With Shutter Island he wanders a bit outside of his comfort zone. He's done so before to sometimes good effect. But this time he couldn't make it work.