I still cannot comprehend this film...

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2015)

Writing this review weeks after watching Shutter Island, you would have thought I could now grasp exactly what happened. However, I still remain the same as the night I finished watching... dumbfounded. With sterling performances from all the actors and a twisted complex plot, this was truly a movie that made me sit up and listen.
Shutter island is the story of a US Marshal investigating the escape of a patient on the island which is revealed as a hospital for the criminally insane. At the beginning of the film I thought I had it pegged - a simple investigation where a terrible truth was uncovered. Although, as the plot unfolded viewers begin to peer into the life of Teddy Daniels the investigator for the case. This added layers to what I thought would be a simple plot. Disturbing dreams and recollections paint Teddy's confused and strange past calling the viewer to question his sanity. As the film went on I became more tense and at many points terrified of what was coming next. I admit to watching through my fingers at various points but my sheer curiosity took over as I needed to know what happened next.
As I have previously stated the performances given from the cast were amazing and truly convincing. I felt each character was very well cast and the intense nature of DiCaprio's character was perfectly portrayed. I especially liked the performance from Michelle Williams as Teddy's dead wife, Dolores. She is a haunting presence on screen and made me feel truly uncomfortable at points.
Vivid and disturbing imagery made Shutter Island hard hitting and therefore, stayed with me for days afterwards. It was difficult to distinguish between what was real and what were hallucinations. This put me on edge and queued a stream of unanswered questions running through my head. Just as certain questions were answered more were sent running through my mind. This kept me interested through the duration.
I don't wish to spoil the ending but all I can say is that it's a real curve ball. I still to this day am not sure what to think! The end left me craving more as if two hours wasn't enough.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Shutter Island. It evoked strong emotions and kept me on my toes. I would highly recommend this film to any mystery lover. I leave you to draw your own conclusions as to what the truth really is.