Scorsese does it again

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2010)

WARNING - Contains spoilers - WARNING
Martin Scorsese adapts Dennis Lehanes's novel Shutter Island into a near perfect film. Starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio is Sir Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, John Carroll Lynch and Elias Koteas. If you're a fan of Scorsese you'd know that his cast always delivers and this one was no different. The acting for the majority was top-notch but DiCaprio especially stood out. He was absolutely amazing, his attitude, intensity and emotions in his eyes made you feel what he was going through at every point throughout the film. For his performance he deserves the best actor nod for next year's Oscars. The story revolves around two U.S. marshals Teddy Daniels (Dicaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) who are sent to Boston's Aschecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane; which is located on the island to investigate a disappearance of an inmate. When they arrive they're told by Deputy Warden McPherson (Carroll) of what is where and the rules. This scene engages you instantly and makes you curious about what is hidden behind all those locked doors. Next they meet Dr. Crawley (Kingsley) who informs them of what has happened since the prisoner vanished and this is when the investigation begins. Throughout the search, we were shown multiple locations that made the atmosphere authentic; they didn't have to use music in order to make you anxious and or frightened. The different types of landscapes they utilized worked perfectly. For once there weren't any CGI and green screens in this, and I'd like to thank Mr. Scorsese for using actual environment shots on the island. However some of the scenes were irritating. For instance one scene, which involved a fire, was beyond annoying when two of the characters were in this cave discussing the matters about the island. The usage of fire was a good choice for light but shot in the worse way possible; while they were talking the flames kept flickering in front of their faces. That was such a horrible distraction and made you want to close your eyes and sleep through the scene. Don't know if it was Scorsese or the Director of Photographer that decided to shoot the scene like that but it should never be done again. During another sequence of events, the parts that got frustrating were the constant flashbacks. Even though it's based on a novel which should be followed to a certain degree, some of the scenes should have been cut. It was confusing sometimes because you didn't know if it was real or a flashback. With all these different flashbacks, it felt like it was Saw for several minutes and with regards to these scenes it almost takes away the flow of the movie. Nevertheless, this is one of the best psychological thrillers out there. This is a must-see for everyone except for children. Do not bring your child to this. As much as this is an amazing film sadly it's the type of movie you see once.
9 out of 10