A Dark Brooding Masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2010)

Shutter Island centers around two U.S. Marshalls who must search for a missing patient on said island, which has a large complex specifically designed for harboring the most violent and disturbed mental patients. Agent Teddy Daniels and his partner must try to understand the mysteries of Shutter Island while attempting to unearth a plot that may go all the way up to the men who run it.
Shutter Island is a very unique and interesting movie. The acting, directing, and the script are all excellent as can be expected in a Scorsese movie. But the quality that sets this apart from most of his previous works is the tone and genre. Scorsese does an amazing job of creating a haunting and dark tone that fits such a suspenseful movie very well.
The twist is also very good, even though it was given away by the trailers. At the end of the movie it is revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio is a patient on Shutter Island and everything that has happened has been an attempt to allow him to live out his delusion of a missing patient and two U.S. Marshalls investigating a secret plot. This idea is a bit far fetched, but that is easily forgivable when you consider how well it was interwoven into the plot.
Upon watching it a second time I noticed all the subtle hints that were placed throughout the movie. That is another quality of Shutter Island that I admire; it's re-watchability. After you know what Leonardo DiCaprio is, it makes the second viewing an entirely different and highly enjoyable experience. You can find all the things you missed the first time and understand all the things that seemed vague and confusing when you didn't know where it was going.
The only real gripe I have would be that Scorsese never really captures true emotion here. The scenes that are supposed to resonate don't really pull you in like they should, specifically the scene by the lake with his wife and kids. Not to say that you don't care about the characters just that it misses the mark somewhat in the drama department.
Shutter Island is a very underrated movie and ranks with some of Scorsese's best. His trip into suspense/mystery actually works very well and he captures a tone that I've never seen before. Somewhere between horror and suspense he finds a gray area that gives Shutter Island a feeling all it's own. Certainly worth watching and re-watching again and again.