In its own way it’s a haunted house movie, or make
that a haunted castle or fortress. We’re told that Shutter Island is a remote
and rocky island off Boston, where a Civil War-era shelter has been turned to a
prison for the criminally insane. Roger Ebert said in his review, “We approach
it by boat through lowering skies, and the feeling is something like the
approach to King Kong's island: Looming in gloom from the sea, it fills the
visitor with dread.” To this island travel U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo
DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo).
It's 1954, and they are tasked to investigate the
disappearance of a child murderer, played by Emily Mortimer. There seems to be
no way to leave the island alive. The disappearance of one prisoner might not
require the appearance of two marshals unknown with the problem, but we never
ask that question. Not after the worrying walls of the prison ascend. Not after
the marshals are guided to the office of the prison medical director, Dr. Cawley,
played by Ben Kingsley with that hostile likability he has mastered.
We can see that Teddy has no idea what he’s getting himself
into. Teddy – such a harmless name in such a dark setting. Scorsese, working
from a novel by Dennis Lehane, seems to be telling an easy enough story here.
The woman is missing, and Teddy and Chuck will look for her. Ebert noted, “But
the cold, gray walls clamp in on them, and the offices of Cawley and his
colleagues, furnished for the Civil War commanding officers, seem borrowed from
a tale by Edgar Allan Poe.”
Scorsese the sculptor chisels away at reality little
by little. Flashbacks show Teddy’s PTSD in the decade since World War II. Ebert
said, “That war, its prologue and aftermath, supplied the dark undercurrent of
classic film noir. The term "post-traumatic shock syndrome" was not
then in use, but its symptoms could be seen in men attempting to look confident
in their facades of unstyled suits, subdued ties, heavy smoking and fedoras
pulled low against the rain.” DiCaprio and Ruffalo both perfect this look, but
DiCaprio makes it appear more like a hopeful costume.
The film’s main effect is on the senses. Everything comes
together into a scary foreshadow of sad secrets. How did this woman escape from
a locked cell in a locked ward in the old shelter, its walls thick enough to
handle cannon fire? Why do Cawley and his evil colleague Dr. Naehring, played
by Max Von Sydow, look to be hiding something? Why is even such a nice person
as the deputy warden, played by John Carrol Lynch (Margie’s husband in “Fargo),
not really convincingly friendly? Why do the methods in the prison cause
flashbacks to Teddy’s memories of helping to release a Nazi death camp?
These types of questions are at the core of film noir.
The hero is always flawed. Ebert noted, “Scorsese showed his actors the great
1947 noir "Out of the Past," whose very title is a noir theme:
Characters never arrive at a story without baggage. They have unsettled issues,
buried traumas. So, yes, perhaps Teddy isn't simply a clean-cut G-man. But why
are the others so strange? Kingsley in particular exudes menace every time he
smiles.”
There are exciting visuals in “Shutter Island.” Ebert
mentioned, “Another film Scorsese showed his cast was Hitchcock's
"Vertigo," and we sense echoes of its hero's fear of heights. There's
the possibility that the escaped woman might be lurking in a cave on a cliff,
or hiding in a lighthouse. Both involve hazardous terrain to negotiate, above
vertiginous falls to waves pounding on the rocks below.” A possible hurricane
is approaching. Light appears out of the sky. The wind sounds sad. As they say,
it is a dark and stormy night. That’s what the movie is about: atmosphere, worrying
omens, the destruction of Teddy’s confidence and even his identity. It’s all
done with flawless directorial work. Scorsese has fear to suggest, and he does
it with many ways.
Ebert admitted, “You may read reviews of "Shutter
Island" complaining that the ending blindsides you. The uncertainty it
causes prevents the film from feeling perfect on first viewing. I have a
feeling it might improve on second. Some may believe it doesn't make sense. Or
that, if it does, then the movie leading up to it doesn't. I asked myself: OK,
then, how should it end? What would be more satisfactory? Why can't I be one of
those critics who informs the director what he should have done instead?”
Ebert continued, “Oh, I've had moments like that.
Every moviegoer does. But not with "Shutter Island."” This movie is
everything, even the parts that don’t appear to work. There is a human habit to
note carefully what goes before, and make logical conclusions. However, what if
you can’t understand exactly what went before? What if there were things about
Cawley and his eccentric staff that were hidden? What if the movie lacks a
reliable narrator? What if its point of view isn’t omniscient but disjointed? Where
can it all lead? What does it mean? We ask, along with Teddy.
This is another movie that will mess with your head
when you see it. However, everything comes together in the end, and when the final
reveal is made, you can understand everything. I will dare not give away the
twist, but you should see it when you get the chance. My cousins were watching
this movie one night on Netflix, but I chose not to sit with them for some
weird reason. Then a few years later, I went back and watched the film on
Netflix when I was exercising, and I loved this. I bet people watch this movie
back-to-back with “Inception,” since they are both in the same vein of weird
films. Check this out if you haven’t, you will love it, I promise.
Alright everyone, we have now come to the end of “Halloween
Month 2022.” I hope everyone enjoyed this month, seeing how I did do more
reviews this month then I had thought. Just a lot of horror movies I ended up
seeing to fill this month out with. Happy Halloween. Make sure to go out
trick-or-treating, but be safe tonight. I will see everyone next month for the
next set of reviews.
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