Shutter Island

Wow - two movie reviews in a row! Before you know it, I'll be a regular Ebert! Or not.

Anyway, this is spoiler free so even if you haven't seen it, you can feel free to read on.

Anyway, I was over in Singapore to visit family recently and on the way back, one of the movies on the plane was Shutter Island. Shutter Island is a psychological thriller by legendary director Martin Scorsese with an interesting twist at the end. Thinking back, the twist isn't really that surprising so if you are expecting a twist ending then you could probably guess what it is. Luckily, I didn't know anything about this film before I saw it so the twist caught me by surprise.

In brief, the plot of the movie involves a US Marshall (played really well by Leonardo Dicaprio - I have a new found respect for his acting talent after this movie) travelling to a mental institute housing criminally insane patients on an island in the middle of nowhere. The US Marshall is there because one of the inmates has mysteriously vanished from her cell. However, the US Marshall himself seems to suffer from flashbacks (to when he was a soldier in WWII) and delusions (constantly seeing images of dead people). Before long, events take a sinister turn and the US Marshall has to race to uncover the conspiracy on the Island before he gets locked away as an inmate.

Granted - not exactly an original plotline. However, what really makes this film stand out though is the brilliant way in which Scorsese slowly builds up the suspense and drama. The cinematography in this film is brilliant and even simple actions are done with panache and style. In particular, the switches of viewpoint from the real world to Dicaprio's delusional world are made with no warning and handled brilliantly. At times, you can tell immediately that Dicaprio is in his delusional world. At other times, Scorsese hides the switch so well that you just aren't sure what you are watching.

Watching films like this, you really understand why Scorsese is considered a legend in his field. If you haven't seen this movie, you really owe it to yourself to check it out.