Another Great Collaboration

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2010)

'Shutter Island' is an homage to classic horror and film noir rapped up into a modern psychological thriller. Add in the always brilliant Leonardo DiCaprio and one of films all time great directors Martin Scorsce and you're looking at a can't miss combination. The film plays on the themes of image vs. reality, post traumatic stress, and the depth of human evil. The viewer is left guessing the real truth right up to the films startling conclusion.
DiCaprio plays Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshall with a troubled past who is summoned to an island in Boston harbor which houses a treatment facility for the criminally insane where a patient has escaped. Everything and everyone around Teddy seems to be shrouded in mystery including the facilities sinister administrator Ben Kingsley and even his U.S. Marshall partner Mark Ruffalo. Through cryptic flashbacks and dream sequences we realize the depth of Teddy's troubled past and his connection to the facility.
DiCaprio adds layers of depth to the character. As he races to uncover the truth about the nature of shutter island the viewer is left racing to find the truth of Teddy's past. The plot thickens each step along the way, as the stakes become more and more personal. Kingsley is chilling, as are most of the inmates his facility houses.
All in all another great DiCaprio/Scorsce collaboration!