Good visuals, but disappointing

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2010)

This is a good movie, but for Scorsese, it's disappointing. It has the acting and the visuals, but falls flat in the subtlety department. If you watch many psychological thrillers, you will almost immediately be aware that at least some of the events in the movie exist in DiCaprio's head. This is barely a spoiler, it's just incredibly obvious.
There are many, similar movies that have an overly stressed police officer/agent/whatever, often with headaches, often with a new partner, who try to unravel a labyrinthine plot only to discover that much of what they assumed is an illusion, usually caused by past stress. If this kind of framework sounds familiar to you, Shutter Island won't be very impressive.
Some of the events in the movie lack subtlety. I would have appreciated the scenes from Dachau more if they hadn't be explained point blank-- just suggest that this knowledge of evil is with the main character, don't beat us over the head with it.
On the plus side, the island looks perfect. The wind and rain are terrific, the whitening flashes of lightning are great, and the visuals in general are spectacular.
The acting was also good, but it can't elevate an average storyline.
I do recommend this movie. It was a disappointment to me, but it's not bad, and for viewers who aren't as familiar with psychological thrillers, it might be quite fresh.