This is Jack Burton in the Pork Chop Express, and I'm talkin' to whoever's listenin' out there.
I was never a big fan of Martin Scorsese until I saw The Departed. Yes, I know, he did Goodfellas, Casino, Cape Fear, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and so on and so forth. I don’t know. I’ve always considered him an in-your-face director that would benefit from just stepping back and letting his work be a little more subtle. Then I saw The Departed and (grudgingly) loved it, despite its lack of subtlety. But even that enjoyment was tainted since it was a remake of the excellent Chinese film, Infernal Affairs. Regardless, I loved The Departed, and was somewhat disappointed with the early trailers for his latest film, Shutter Island. But I felt much the same about The Departed’s trailers. So I tried to go into this film with an open mind, but somewhere underneath it all, I was waiting for the other foot to drop, for me to absolutely hate this film. And I’m glad to say that this is absolutely not the case.
Shutter Island is an intense, suspenseful, and masterfully woven film about U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) investigation into the disappearance of an inmate/patient on Shutter Island in a classic ‘locked room’ scenario. Accompanied by his new sidekick/partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), they question the inmates and staff of the island, headed by Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), and find that there’s much more to the island than they thought. The performances across the board are excellent, including an unforgettable, blink-and-you’ll-miss-him cameo by Jackie Earle Haley of Watchmen fame. He’s quickly putting together an impressive résumé of iconic performances, and I can’t wait to catch him as Freddie Kruger in the upcoming remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. DiCaprio handles his character’s emotional baggage exceptionally well, though I can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever put away that Boston accent. The weakest link is probably Mark Ruffalo, the always-likable chap, who really doesn’t have much to do here except play, well, a likable chap. The characters have a heft to them that is normally missing in these types of suspense films; they each have their own secrets and their own baggage and are incredibly multi-faceted, which I loved. Nobody’s really a stock, archetypal character.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, the writer of such books as Gone, Baby, Gone, and Mystic River. He also did a stint on the much-loved HBO series, The Wire. I didn’t realize that Shutter Island was created by a man with such an interesting and remarkable pedigree. The storytelling was so vivid and strong behind Shutter Island that it really wouldn’t surprise me if more of his works got turned into film. The plot is multi-layered and grounded in the investigation; as the investigation continues, Daniels confronts his past. In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this would have been a jumbled mess. But Scorsese is, truly, a master. There, I said it. He juggles the back story pitch-perfect, and the flashbacks (done in haunting dream sequences) are never distracting. Instead, while on a completely different subject from the actual investigation, they add to the tension and raise the stakes of the film. From the start, the soundtrack and the acting nail you to your seat and rip you through the events, slowing down just enough to involve you on an emotional level that leaves you guessing and hoping against hope that things work out. Everything is connected, and by the end, the climactic scenes are satisfying and ultimately well-deserved from such a great film.
I caught the morning show last week for 6.00 and paid for my cousin as well.
12.00 on tickets
4.00 on gas
16.00? What a steal of a deal. Best film of 2010 so far. My next two reviews should be up shortly.
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