Shutter Island - A Martin Scorsese Film

Excellent....

VCD at Rs 35/- ... !!! Movie is extra ordinary...

Well, the less I write about this movie the less I would reveal the suspense. This movie engages you till the end. In the middle the dreams of Leonardo may appear vapid but they are very much a part of climax.

The DVD started badly with enforced trailers to other Paramount pictures, and the film started poorly with gross music and a very simple dialogue so that all members of society can understand the premise. After that Scorsese gets a grip and a very entertaining film ensues. Some reviewers have likened it to a thriller version of One flew over the Cuckoos nest, but Leonardo DiCaprio is no Jack Nicholson

Shutter Island is very much the modern equivalent of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. The film covers a wide variety of themes. Most prevalent is the question, "How do I know I am not insane?" But there are also plenty of other areas covered including, inter alia, murder, justice, medical ethics, the Holocaust, McCarthy-eque paranoia and responsibility for one's own actions.The film is relatively complex and certainly requires a second viewing in order to fully grasp the plot's twists and turns. It all begins straightforwardly enough, though there is a slow descent into a place where things just don't quite add up. The mixture of hallucinations and real life action may be off-putting for some viewers, but not for me. The fact that they are confusing scenes only conveys the confusion in the mind of the protagonist, and not any form of fuzzy thinking on the part of the director.The casting of the film is very good, as is the acting. DiCaprio's performance is very similar to that which he had in Inception, which I understand was filmed around the same time as Shutter Island. But DiCaprio is only one actor, and one good performance doesn't make a great film. Ben Kingsley's portrayal as a psychiatrist trying to be a pioneer in his field is highly noteworthy, though not in the same league as his acting in Gandhi or Schindler's List. The film is given a sombre gravitas from the presence of Max von Sydow and a rare return to limelight from Ted Levine was most welcome.So why give this 4 stars instead of 5? Well, the stylisation didn't feel right. Set in the 1950s, it just didn't feel authentic. There seemed to be some 60s influences in there (particularly with the scenes set away from the asylum) and the aesthetics and the vernacular in the script just seemed too up-to-date. The end of the film is bleakly fatalistic, but it is also somewhat deterministic. Given that the fundamental question posed regards sanity, I think the film would have benefited more by an open ending, whereby the story which is eventually revealed is made more questionable than it has been.

A real 'edge-of-the-seat thriller' which will leave you spellbound. DiCaprio exudes vulnerability as the Marshall determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of 'Shutter Island' (won't go into detail as it would spoil plot). We see him becoming more and more embroiled in the intrigue, and more and more confused, but determined to find the mysterious Laeddis. His motives for visiting change as the plot progresses; mind games are played and the culmination is an explosive revelation... Watch it to find out! Brilliant.

Hi This is a film that make's the viewer 'think', unlike most action stories or is there a story?????. Brilliant performing and they filmed most of it on the actual shutter island itself which is a bit creepy but of course add's to the story.

`Shutter Island' is a thriller set in the fifties which follows two US Marshals who are investigating an escape at an institute for the criminally insane. The asylum is on an island and they get stranded there after a big storm sweeps in after their arrival. They have to work out how the patient escaped and what other sinister things have been occurring on the island before it is all too late. Di Caprio plays Edward Daniels, one of the Marshals, who is also traumatised by his past during and after the war and he relives some of this history via flashbacks throughout the film.This had a dark, sinister feel to it from the word go and you are very quickly drawn into the intrigue and mystery on the island. You are unsure whether the head doctor is trustworthy or not and the other patients also add a surreal element to the proceedings. Everyone plays their roles very well and Kingsley is especially noteworthy as the head doctor. This is excellently directed by Scorsese and the soundtrack also adds to the tension, as any good score should.This has a twist in the end, that although fairly predictable, still ties things up neatly and gives you food for thought long after you've finished watching. More and more scenes become clearer as you think back and characters motivations make more sense. All in all this is a good thriller with solid performances from the whole cast and it keeps you engaged for the two hour duration. Worth a look at some point.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.