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Review: Something's Amiss On 'Shutter Island'
Scorsese Strays Off Target With Creepy Film Noir
POSTED: 9:50 am CST February 19, 2010
UPDATED: 2:02 pm CST February 19, 2010
'Shutter Island' (R)
(out of four)The paranoia is so thick in "Shutter Island" you can cut it with a knife, yet director Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller ends up thin and as watery as the surrounds of the island itself. Edgy, jittery, yet completely scattered, "Shutter Island" would have been relegated to the drive-in as a cult B-movie, but since it's by a moviemaking legend it's easy to forgive. Yet, it's easy to forget.The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio (in his fourth Scorsese picture), with other heavyweight actors including Sir Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow and Patricia Clarkson. Even Ted Levine, creepy Buffalo Bill from "Silence of the Lambs," shows up as a prison guard with a speech that will leave moviegoers dumbstruck.For those who've read the 2003 page turner by Dennis Lehane, the surprise twist in the film might jolt those unaware of the book, but won't be a shocker to the bookish. But even midway through the movie, when most of the pieces start to fit, the shocker ends up not delivering the blow it should have."Shutter Island" is the story of Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), a U.S. federal marshal and Army veteran plagued by visions of his past. Daniels has his own reasons for wanting to be the lead investigator on a missing persons case at the rain-soaked Shutter Island, site of the Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Yet the place seems to bring out the worst of Teddy's memories, including death camps in Dachau and the sudden death of a loved one."Shutter Island" oozes Hitchcock in its early strains, yet reeks of Stanley Kubrick. Where the Scorsese stamp comes through is in Teddy's flashbacks, disturbing images of icy gray death camps and firing squads, bloody suicides and dusty ashes falling from the sky after a fire.Although Scorsese has positioned DiCaprio to step into Robert De Niro's shoes in the filmmaker's hall of actor fame, DiCaprio still doesn't have the depth of De Niro. His depiction of Daniels weaves in and out of believability, and scenes with the equally unconvincing Michelle Williams as Teddy’s wife seem shallow.Kingsley and von Sydow are the perfect Freudian pair as the psychiatrists who run "Shutter Island" and manage to keep the interlocking pieces of the puzzle connected throughout. The casting of Mark Ruffalo as Chuck, Teddy's calm and reassuring partner, offers balance.When all is said and done, however, there's something missing on "Shutter Island." Expected heart-pounding moments come only at the sound of a gunshot or the swell of Robbie Robertson's soundtrack with a nails-on-chalkboard cello that continually flashes the warning sign: "Be scared during this frame of the film."The lacking is a combination of the story itself with its plot holes and unattended-to sub-plots, and Scorsese's attempts to merge his love of film noir with his fascination for every other spooky genre of film.Teddy fears he'll never get off "Shutter Island" and audiences will feel the same containment, and a sense of relief when it is finally time to leave.
(out of four)The paranoia is so thick in "Shutter Island" you can cut it with a knife, yet director Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller ends up thin and as watery as the surrounds of the island itself. Edgy, jittery, yet completely scattered, "Shutter Island" would have been relegated to the drive-in as a cult B-movie, but since it's by a moviemaking legend it's easy to forgive. Yet, it's easy to forget.The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio (in his fourth Scorsese picture), with other heavyweight actors including Sir Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow and Patricia Clarkson. Even Ted Levine, creepy Buffalo Bill from "Silence of the Lambs," shows up as a prison guard with a speech that will leave moviegoers dumbstruck.For those who've read the 2003 page turner by Dennis Lehane, the surprise twist in the film might jolt those unaware of the book, but won't be a shocker to the bookish. But even midway through the movie, when most of the pieces start to fit, the shocker ends up not delivering the blow it should have."Shutter Island" is the story of Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), a U.S. federal marshal and Army veteran plagued by visions of his past. Daniels has his own reasons for wanting to be the lead investigator on a missing persons case at the rain-soaked Shutter Island, site of the Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Yet the place seems to bring out the worst of Teddy's memories, including death camps in Dachau and the sudden death of a loved one."Shutter Island" oozes Hitchcock in its early strains, yet reeks of Stanley Kubrick. Where the Scorsese stamp comes through is in Teddy's flashbacks, disturbing images of icy gray death camps and firing squads, bloody suicides and dusty ashes falling from the sky after a fire.Although Scorsese has positioned DiCaprio to step into Robert De Niro's shoes in the filmmaker's hall of actor fame, DiCaprio still doesn't have the depth of De Niro. His depiction of Daniels weaves in and out of believability, and scenes with the equally unconvincing Michelle Williams as Teddy’s wife seem shallow.Kingsley and von Sydow are the perfect Freudian pair as the psychiatrists who run "Shutter Island" and manage to keep the interlocking pieces of the puzzle connected throughout. The casting of Mark Ruffalo as Chuck, Teddy's calm and reassuring partner, offers balance.When all is said and done, however, there's something missing on "Shutter Island." Expected heart-pounding moments come only at the sound of a gunshot or the swell of Robbie Robertson's soundtrack with a nails-on-chalkboard cello that continually flashes the warning sign: "Be scared during this frame of the film."The lacking is a combination of the story itself with its plot holes and unattended-to sub-plots, and Scorsese's attempts to merge his love of film noir with his fascination for every other spooky genre of film.Teddy fears he'll never get off "Shutter Island" and audiences will feel the same containment, and a sense of relief when it is finally time to leave.
