Mind Games

Rating: 7/10 (13 March 2010)

Shutter Island is a body of land in Boston Harbor which has a hospital for the criminally insane. It's run by a pair of doctors played by Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow who have certainly essayed roles of some very deep villainy. Couple that with the fact that this film is set in post World War II where America has just been fighting with people who have mysterious accents like Von Sydow and Kingsley. It's a recipe for a Hitchcock like thriller.
US Marshal Leonardo DiCaprio has been sent to Shutter Island with his new partner Mark Ruffalo to investigate the disappearance of a woman who was declared criminally insane by the courts and is now confined to the island facility. Though it is a hospital also, primarily Shutter Island is a prison and run by the Federal government and subject to their jurisdiction.
Although Ruffalo is content to follow DiCaprio's lead, Leo's not happy with the lack of cooperation he's getting on the investigation, even more unhappy that inclement weather is forcing he and Ruffalo to stay on the island. Something suspicious is going on and DiCaprio's going to get to the bottom of it.
Actually something very suspicious is going on there, some very intricate mind games are being played, some experimentation is being conducted by the staff. But trust me, it's beyond DiCaprio's powers of grasp.
Shutter Island marks the third film that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have teamed as director/star. It's possible Leo is trying to tie Robert DeNiro for times working with Scorsese. This part is certainly one a younger DeNiro might have done. I don't think Shutter Island ranks up there with either The Aviator or The Departed it's still an intricately plotted story and one where the lead has to be convincing or the film goes nowhere. DiCaprio doggedly plods on with his investigation while battling some inner demons that the audience is gradually let it on. A younger DeNiro couldn't have been better.
The rest of the cast ably supports Leo, but in the final analysis Shutter Island belongs to him and to Martin Scorsese for putting it all together. Alfred Hitchcock would be proud.