|
 In cinemas now [MA15+]
Director: Martin Scorsese
Runtime: 138 mins
On Shutter Island, a rundown institution houses only the most dangerous criminally insane patients. When one of them mysteriously disappears from her cell, US Marshals Teddy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are sent to investigate. When they discover the lies go much deeper than the whereabouts of single missing person, Teddy must navigate his way through crooked psychiatrists and murderous patients to discover the truth, while walking the line between sanity and insanity.
Director Martin Scorsese is a man of great talent. With so many years and so many great films to his credit, he could probably direct a fourth grade play and receive an award. So why then is his latest film Shutter Island, which promised to be an eerie, suspense-filled mystery, such a disappointment? Have the countless ‘Oscar-grab’ movies softened that edge he was so renowned for? How could a film with all the right elements turn out to be so mediocre?
The trouble with Shutter Island is everything about it is so safe. The film lacks that Scorsese boldness you’ve come to expect. While the filmmaking is still of the highest quality, the movie seems almost afraid to make its audience uncomfortable. It’s a suspense film that doesn’t want to scare you too much. To top off this very vanilla sundae, Scorsese has avoided any casting risks, working with actors he either always works with (DiCaprio), or ones everyone ‘kinda likes’ (Ruffalo).
Perhaps making nothing but ‘Oscar-worthy’ biopics and dramas set in other decades makes great directors lazy, and while there are still the Lars Von Triers out there, hacking up genitals to shock the audience into the cinema, Scorsese knows they’ll probably come in anyway.
It’s hard to recommend Shutter Island on Scorsese’s name alone. Even if his work here is visually enjoyable, it’s neither memorable or thrilling, and while it keeps you enthralled, the silly end of the film just makes the whole exercise even more disappointing. Right now there are so many no-name filmmakers out there pushing boundaries and making a racket in the suspense genre that something like Shutter Island seems like a Disney Film in comparison. Big risks are easier to take when you’ve got nothing to lose and Scorsese seems intent on keeping his Aviator-loving audience happy.
With the exception of some rather overused twists and turns in the plot, some poor dialogue and a distracting musical score, Shutter Island can be summed up by the phrase ‘sort of good’. Which would be fine for describing a movie that wasn’t a two-hour long Martin Scorsese film starring acting heavyweights like Ben Kingsley and filmed on beautifully constructed sets with artful special effects.
**½
BROOKE BURGESS
|
| Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged. |
|
Be first to comment on this article
