Shutter Island

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching film master directorMartin Scorsese’s latest cinema treat, “Shutter Island”.

"Shutter Island" is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane. A period psychological thriller, S.I. offers a wonderfully spine-tingling and twisted ride on an unstable “mental” roller coaster composed of jagged metal, dim shadows, rust, cobwebs, fire and ice.

With an ensemble cast consisting of Leonardo Di Caprio, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Mark Ruffalo with a few outstanding and surprising cameos tossed into the mix, S.I. will supply you with enough “who done it” moments and “reality check” back flips to keep you guessing, and anticipating, to the last scene.

While not one of Scorsese’s best films - and a bit on the long side at 2.5 hours- (I can think of at least two scenes that could have been cut from the film without compromising the story line), the film is magnificently photographed and the acting, particularly DiCaprio, is top-notch. I can easily see him being nominated for an Oscar for this performance, should it stay within the Academy’s memory banks for that amount of time. 

Currently, the film has a 67% ranking on www.rottentomatoes.com ( http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1198124-shutter_island/) and I suggest that you check out that link for detailed information.

By the way, the dream sequences are phenomenal and, in the opinion of this visual artist, some of the best work of that nature that I have seen, perhaps ever.

And remember, everything in this film is a clue.