Fun to sit through, but little longevity

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2011)

After two decades of making the gangster films that his name's synonymous with, Martin Scorsese goes for something else entirely: a period-set mystery/horror/thriller that takes place in a remote, island-bound lunatic asylum during the 1950s. Scorsese openly admitted that his film's highly influenced by the Val Lewton-produced horror films of the 1940s, where lighting, camera setup and atmosphere play key roles and the emphasis is on toying with the viewer's imagination, conjuring demons in the shadows instead of trolleying in the latest variant on Frankenstein's monster.
And for the most part, SHUTTER ISLAND is a decent piece of filmmaking. The movie's distinctive look is a highlight, with the old horror movie clichés (dark and stormy nights, forbidding buildings) brought vividly back to life. Scorsese even employs some dodgy back projection during the car journeys in homage to the films of yesteryear. Leonardo DiCaprio is another strength, bringing to life the character of his tortured investigator Teddy Daniels and experiencing some highly disturbing nightmares along the way.
The supporting cast is packed with familiar archetypes played by familiar actors: the reliable partner (Mark Ruffalo), the urbane but slightly sinister asylum head (Ben Kingsley), along with many others including a trio of villainish types (Ted Levine, Jackie Earle Haley and Elias Koteas). As the film went on, things began to jump out at me: clues, sometimes over-obvious I thought, pointing towards a twist ending. The suspense builds and the story deepens and I become more and more convinced of the way the film was heading. In the end, I turned out to be right; I'd sussed it early on.
As the credits rolled, I realised that I hadn't been entirely impressed with the production overall: it's well-made, certainly, but it covers exactly the same kind of ground that I've watched in countless B-movies from the 1930s onwards. I couldn't help but sense a slight pretentiousness to the script, a 'look aren't we clever' feel to the plotting. When compared to a similar psychological movie like THE MACHINIST, SHUTTER ISLAND comes up short. It's fun to watch once, but slightly vacuous, and once you find out the nature of the joke you're not going to want to go over it all again.