Shutter Island - A Wavy Davy Review

Rating: 9/10 (25 September 2010)

When this film was announced, some movie-fans were baffled as to why Di Caprio and Scorsese would team up for seemed like a silly thriller that usually belonged to people like Dennis Quaid (sorry Dennis). The reason is that this is not an average thriller - it is an intelligent and dark piece made fantastic mainly due to the excellent direction and acting.
The film opens with US Marshalls Teddy Daniels (Di Caprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Rufallo) travelling to the mysterious Shutter Island - the location for a seedy mental institute. The policemen are brought to investigate the disappearance of a patient, Rachel Solondo (Emily Mortimer). The US Marshalls soon meet the head of the institute, Dr John Cawley (played brilliantly by Sir Ben Kingsley), who comes across very suspiciously indeed. As the plot unfolds, Daniel's motives for being at the island become clearer, as does the peril both cops find themselves in.
The success of this film is the whole aura that Scorsese creates in his music and filming. The constant rain and grey skies gives the film a 'grey' feel that is translated in the themes throughout. Some of the scenes, particularly Daniels' nightmares, might have come across goofy from a poorer filmmaker, but Scorsese makes them chilling and horrifying, making for a very effective film. Di Caprio, too, must be given credit for this aspect, since his acting is thoroughly convincing - he looks, talks and acts like a man with a dark past, a man with a mission, and a man who is slowly losing his sanity. Mark Rufallo is convincing too, as a worried partner, while Kingsley as the sinister Cawley.
Overall, this is a perfect psychological thriller, with significant similarities to 'The Sixth Sense' and 'The Others'.
Scorsese has created another classic in a genre that was in need of fresh air.