Bold around the edges, Scorsese paints another fine picture.

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2010)

8.9
Shutter Island is the first Scorsese film that I've seen in theaters. It may be hard to believe, but it's true. I would describe seeing a Scorsese film as a bold experience. Shutter Island is such an experience, but only around the corners. With that said, it's still a very good painting. Even though there are some objects in the painting that may not be as good, there are other objects that are great, and the overall tone of the painting is very good.
The atmosphere in the film is top-notch. The music and sounds serve this purpose very well, also. The haunting, yet beautiful strings match the also haunting, yet beautiful scenery very well. The film also uses weather to set the mood. The setting had a stormy tone, a dark and violent mood, to fit the characters on the island. The final shot of the film is one of my favorite shots out of any film, ever.
So far that's the overall tone, and some of the greater objects in the painting. But there are elements to the painting that are not so great. This is namely some parts of the film towards the middle that don't have much of the boldness discussed earlier. Some scenes don't come off with the same grace, and some dialogue heavy scenes don't really do a very good job of painting the whole twilight zone, psychological thriller theme. It feels a bit dry, or weak, whereas some key scenes in the film are... wet.
Shutter Island is a story that needs peeling. There's more to it, there's a twist. The problem is, not only is the twist poorly veiled, but it was ruined for me and some friends during the trailer. This has nothing to do with the movie, but it's worth mentioning because it affected the movie watching experience in the end. The trailer presents the plot/problem, and hints the solution to the point where you want to experience that type of film, but when you finally do, it won't be as good, because it was all ready ruined. It's like marrying a woman who lost her virginity a long time ago. Even then, the ending is great, and left some viewers with a feeling of ambiguity. When seen from that point of view, it is a very good film. When seen from the traditional perspective, the ending still delivers.
I greatly enjoyed Shutter Island. I loved being on the island, and I never wanted to leave. I never wanted Teddy to leave, either. It can be described almost as a lasagna. There's a lot of pasta, but those other components are so good that so me of them end up being amongst my favorite and most powerful scenes in cinema. Shutter Island will welcome you with open arms, make you feel at home. Then suddenly creep you out as you realize that it's maybe not as great a place as you initially thought it was. But you will be glad you payed a visit. And after all, Scorsese's paint strokes transform this film from mediocre to great.