Marty . . . was this movie really necessary?

Rating: 4/10 (5 July 2011)

Because honestly, it looks like you grabbed Leo DiCaprio, a couple of wind machines, a rough draft of the screenplay for "Inception" and made "Shutter Island" over a long weekend. Granted, your genius is evident throughout the movie . . . "Shutter Island" is muddled, confusing and ultimately pointless, but it's littered with raw, brutal, beautiful images that are much more disturbing than the nonsense storyline. What a masterpiece you could have made if you'd taken a few months to meditate on those visions of Dachau and drowning children. They could have been the heart of this movie instead of red herrings that ultimately have nothing to do with Leo's quest for . . . well, we're never really sure, since he doesn't seem to know either. Okay, maybe I shouldn't blame you for the inconsistencies of the plot, I've never read Lehane's novel. But I will remind you that some novels shouldn't be filmed, and maybe "Shutter Island" is one of them. I don't mind ambiguity. However, my idea of "ambiguity" is not knowing why Leo came to the island. Your idea of "ambiguity" means getting Leo to the island and then inventing five different competing reasons for him to be there . . . is he trying to find the man who murdered his wife? Is he trying to expose atrocities committed by the US government? Is he trying (and failing) to prove that he can keep an accent for an entire movie? He has to fill in the blank along with the audience, and I'm sorry, that's not as interesting as trying to solve a riddle with a single answer.