Once again, Scorsese has helped redefine a genre'

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2010)

Sure everyone knows the typical Scorsese film. Normally there is a mob present, or in most cases, a tough brute who loves to flash the "F" bomb in almost every sentence. But what about a thriller? I mean sure, we have seen it in "Cape Fear", probably one of my personal favorite remakes. But what about a top notch mind bending thriller that really makes you think. Something the likes of which we have never seen Mr. Scorsese do. But given his previous works of art, its really hard to doubt that he cannot pull this off.
Grasping the concept of this movie is a no brainer. There is a mystery on this island filled with crazy people, but you can tell that there is a lot more under the surface. Yeah, it doesn't sound that original........but my oh my, you just wait until Scorsese begins to pick at your brain. Not since "Taxi Driver" have i seen Scorsese really make a valiant attempt at a character study of someone going insane. In "Taxi Driver", its like your in the back seat......watching as Robert Deniro slowing progresses into his insanity. With Shutter Island, its like your inside the mind of Dicaprio, and everything is starting to crumble. Scorsese really does a fantastic job of toying with your mind. You cannot help but second guess everything your thinking, but then again, i think that was the ultimate goal.......and yes, that was hint towards the end, which i think will raise a lot of debate. Now i always hear the phrase "Twist and Turns" when someone describes a decent thriller. Then i see the movie, and i say to myself........"That was a Twist and Turn? It felt more like a road bump." But in this case, Scorsese really does re-define the term. Because in this film, you really have a hard time judging what is actually real, and what is not.......and what you think is happening, is actually not happening at all..........that is a twist and turn people. Not you finally figuring out who the masked killer is at the end.......okay, im sorry that all thriller movies are not like a Scooby Doo episode.
And since we are on the subject of crappy thrillers......i am so glad that Scorsese chose not to use elevated music in some of scenes. For example, someone jump out of a dark corner......in most cases, the music is raised and the audience jumps.......but in this movie, Scorsese doesn't add any music at all......he just uses the fear of an eerie set to make your skin crawl. Much like an old Hitchcock movie. However, there is music in this, and let me tell you, it is so very fitting. You can tell Scorsese has been down this path before, so he sort of used the same style that he did in "Cape Fear", with Benard Herman's deep, dark, and haunting tones that just pull you in more and more. Honestly, there is not one bad aspect of this movie. The acting, the directing, the score, the cinematography.....all pieced together with one hell of a script.
Bottom Line........people, this is what a thriller is suppose to be. Especially a psychological thriller. I thank god for directors like Scorsese.....because this movie really isn't his type of film. My guess is he saw enough crap in this genre' and had enough.......so he threw his hat into the ring and gave a rebirth to the classic Hithcock type thriller.......not only that, i really think that he redefined it in a way. Now i know that it is really early in the year, but i can easily see this movie staying in my top 10 of this year. Absolutely fantastic film, best i have seen so far.