Without a doubt, Martin Scorsese’s (The Wolf of Wall Street, The Departed) was one of my life’s most incredible theater movie experiences. I had been super excited for the movie since seeing its first preview six months or more before it came out. There was so much hype associated with the film that I was certain it couldn’t live up to the expectations. However, it not only met expectations but also surpassed them. This movie is a complete masterpiece and has only been dampened by the fact that the second viewing (an essential viewing for all film fans) wasn’t as awesome as I thought it would be. I thought I would gain some insight into knowing things about the movie I didn’t realize during my first viewing. Rather than capitalizing on this new knowledge, I found the second viewing rather dull. The excitement of seeing this film for the first time was what made it so great. This movie is also a much better view in the theater than at home, regardless of how big your home television might be. It’s a movie that needed to be seen in a dark theater full of other people viewing the film for the first time.Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (who, on a side note, also has written the books for which the fantastic movies Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River were based), Shutter Island tells the story of US Marshals Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo – You Can Count on Me, The Kids Are All Right). They, in 1954, are sent to investigate the disappearance of a patient on Shutter Island, an institution for the criminally insane located off of the Boston Harbor. The patient, Rachel Solando, has been missing for a day. She has vanished from her guarded and locked room. There is no way to escape the small island, and there have been no ferries that have left since her disappearance. She’s on the island, dead or alive, and it’s the marshals’ job to find her. Solando has been sentenced to live out her days after being convicted of murdering her three children. It’s the first case that Daniels and Aule have worked together, and immediately, Daniels knows how green Aule is. Aule admits to this and refers to Daniels as “Boss” throughout the movie. Though they are partners, it is clear early that Daniels is the man in charge.
But all is not what it seems on the island. Teddy and Chuck aren’t finding much help with their investigation. There are parts of the island they aren’t allowed to visit. There are people on the island they aren’t allowed to talk to. Teddy starts finding a string of disturbing clues that he believes are leading him to Rachel. But the closer he comes to discovering the truth, the faster the authorities on the island, including Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley – Gandhi, House of Sound and Fog), try to usher him and Chuck back to the mainland. Cawley admits that there is a division among the doctors on the island in how to care for the patients. Some island psychiatrists believe patients should be treated through surgical techniques such as lobotomies. In contrast, others believe administering drugs is the best way to deal with patients. The discord on the islands leads Teddy to consider further that much is being hidden from him and Chuck. Soon the story becomes a mix of a game of chess and hide and seek. Rachel may or not be found. Finding her might soon not be the most crucial investigation on the island.
Plot 10/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 9/10
Acting 10/10
Screenplay 9.5/10
Directing 10/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 10/10 (I was never bored and enjoyed the movie the more we got to know each character)
Universal Relevance 8.5/10
96.5%
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