Absolutely dreadful. A complete waste of time.

Rating: 3/10 (22 March 2010)

I will write this as if a critic instead of dissecting it as I have no desire to re-hash this truly forgettable film.
Shutter Island bills itself as a taut, psychological, edge-of-your-seat thriller brought to you by Martin Scorsese who managed to channel the essence of Alfred Hitchcock. It fails miserably on all those account. It had no suspense whatsoever, plodded along for the majority of the film, was incredibly predictable, and provided no plot twists or surprises at all.
At the opening of the film, when the two US Marshalls played by DiCaprio and Ruffalo approached the hospital, the overbearing cello music was meant to build a heightened sense of suspense. It was more annoying than anything. When seeing that the island had a semi-detached lighthouse, one HAD to know that the climax of the film would take place either in it or around it. And when told that the most dangerous patients were kept in the old Civil War fort, you HAD to know that some key piece of evidence or information would be found there, and probably not easily. Predictability on all accounts did not disappoint.
Another key sign that DiCaprio was not who he thought he was came early on with the alcoholic flashbacks and being given aspirin that was conveniently at the ready in a paper dispensing cup rather then being dispensed out of a standard bottle. And when he and Ruffalo were given Orderly uniforms while their wet clothes were being dry-cleaned, well, all bets were off by then.
There came a point where the suspension of disbelief completely vanished and where the unbelievability of the plot / premise set in. I think that part happened when Koteas showed up for a few seconds and the audience behind me began to chuckle and remarks of "oh, come on" could be heard.
One review of this film I have read states that Scorsese achieved a sense of suspenseful claustrophobia. The only time I felt that was when it seemed the walls of the theater were closing in on me after I lost interest in this movie. Either then or when I asked the girl at the box office for my money back.