Shutter Island - A Review

After a long time, finally got to sit down and watch a movie at home. And after watching it, i decided to write rather than talk about it to others(even though i was left spellbound and speechless and was finding a place to bury my head into the couch)

This movie has been in the cans for a long time, and everytime i visited Sir Marty's(Martin Scorsese) profile on Imdb i kept seeing this message that the movie is still in the Post-Production stages. And in the last few months i've completely lost track of the movies that have been coming and in that process this also went away from my mind. And just a few weeks back, i get this mail from my friend in the Pune Film Institute who was saying that this has got to be one of the finest films that has been produced by Hollywood, and if i didn't watch it right away, well i can stop talking about movies. And then two more from the group saw it and gave the same feedback, which just doubled up the curiosity. Luckily one of them was coming to Bombay in two days and i finally got to see it.

This has got to be one of the landmark films in Sir Marty's Career as well as in Hollywood. I mean, from what we've seen from Scorsese's adaptation from Book/Bios to screen (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Departed) this one is no where near any of these films. The closest that you can relate this film is to probably Taxi Driver and Cape Fear. But this is a completely new presentation that Scorsese has given us and to keep delivering and exploring at this age is why people keep adoring him and that is the mark of someone who is special.

The movie is about Teddy Daniels(Leo Di Caprio), a U.S.Marshall and his partner Chuck Aule(Mark Ruffalo) who are appointed to investigate the case of this missing patient in Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, Boston. Teddy has been pushing to get on this assignment for some personal reasons and also to find out more about the how the hospital operates as he has his own suspicions about it. As Teddy begins to investigate the situation, he gets on to some convincing leads but things start getting even more suspicious with people from the hospital including the Chief doctor, Dr. Crawely(Ben Kingsley) refusing to co-operate with him. Finally, he decides to close down the investigations and get back to land but then a storm hits the island, cutting the communication to the mainland and a few dangerous prisoners also escape in the process. Stuck in the island, Teddy beings to suspect if he has been put here as part of the hosptial's experiments, and as things begin to unravel, he begins to suspect everything - His memory, His partner, even his own sanity.

It's been difficult to put what is there on my mind because i did not know how to describe this movie as i still have own interpretations for it and have not yet figured out if it is correct or not. But this is a small gist, and i hope some of you after watching it can help me fix the rest of the puzzle. :-) :-) :-)

Technically, this film has been flawless. The cinematography is stunning(Robert Richardson), capturing the isolated island brilliantly and creating that sense eeriness that was required for the hospital interiors. But the best parts have got to be the hallucination and dream sequences which are a treat to watch. The editing of this film will just go to show that it is the work of two minds(the editor, Thelma Schoonmaker and director) who have been in the field for long enough and have decided to take the film to the next level. I have never seen such an unusual editing pattern used in a Scorcese film ever and probably it is the script that has given them the freedom to experiment this way. The Interior cells/dungeons of the hospital are well created and light up to give the claustrophobic effect that is required. The soundtrack of the keeps running in your head even after your done watching it, haunting,haunting and more haunting that's all i can say. Unbelievable selection of soundtracks which is always a bonus for us people who are watching the movie(for us to go back home and put it on download :-) :-) :-) )

But you cannot go away without talking about the performances of the actors in such a movie(or rather in a Martin Scorcese movie). Di Caprio pulls of one of the most powerful and toughest performances of this year. He takes you into the psyche of the character so much that you will find it a bit difficult to come out of it once the movie is over. Apart from that Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams excel in their respective roles(the less i say, the better it is). And all this credit goes to one man who has anchored the film with perfection, Martin Scorcese. Unbelievable direction, and i really cannot describe in words how much i love this person.

So sit back, and enjoy the ride as Scorcese takes you into the mind of Teddy Daniels.

Jai Gurudeva!!!

Love

Abhiram

p.s: If this is fantastic, what are we going to say for Christopher Nolan's "Inception"...Looking at the Trailers, i cannot imagine whats in store...or rather don't want to... :-)