Shutter Island an Intense Trip

Without a doubt, Shutter Island will become the most Twittered and buzzed about movie for the next few weeks. Which is interesting considering the film is set in a place that is all about isolation and limited communication, in a time that most of the characters are just catching on to the concept of a box that can show pictures and play the sound of voices.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Denton, a nervous but determined, mysterious but honest hero of the story. Set in 1954 with the Cold War heating up, Denton and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are U.S. Marshals sent to a hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient (or prisoner, depending on how you’re looking at it) that seems to have vanished into thin air. To make things more intriguing, the hospital just happens to be located on remote island in Boston Harbor, making it a difficult place for Denton to figure out and the perfect place for the staff to do… whatever it is they do out there.

In the beginning, Shutter Island wants the viewer to believe they’re watching a pretty straightforward mystery, but careful viewers will notice almost immediately that not everything is as exactly straightforward as it seems. Denton ’s nervousness around water that causes him to vomit, a seemingly innocuous Band-Aid on the forehead and a new partner from Seattle all twist from minute details to intriguing questions that are eventually answered. As Denton ’s investigation unfolds he himself also seems to be unfolding. Headaches, bad dreams and voices from his past tell the story of how he fits in with the island and why he has some connection to a few of the prisoners held in the mysterious Ward C.

He doesn’t get much help from the staff of the island either. Since the disappearance of the patient, the whole place is in a lock-down state. Overseeing the whole operation is Dr.Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who at first seems to want the mystery solved, then seems to just want the whole thing over. Throw in a hurricane force storm, an ex-Nazi doctor (Max von Sydow) and a not-to-friendly Warden (Ted Levine) and Denton begins to realize that he is more isolated on this island than he ever expected to be. And that’s all before his partner disappears.

To reveal anymore would be giving too much away, but you’re at all into thrillers, you’ll definitely want to see this movie. Shutter Island isn ‘t the best movie that Martin Scorsese has ever made, but it’s definitely up there as far as psychological mysteries go. The acting is worthy of Oscar nomination. Dicaprio, onscreen for nearly the entire 138 minutes of the film, (a clue that shouldn’t be missed by keen viewers) does an excellent job portraying Denton’s internal strife. Ben Kingsley is great but underused in the film and Michelle Williams is fantastic in another too small role. The movie definitely depends on twists and turns to keep the action moving, but they’ll keep you guessing and wanting to learn what’s really going on on Shutter Island.