The awaited adaptation of the Dennis (Mystic River) Lehane novel was due out last fall, but for reasons I forget it got pushed back to this winter – a push that gave me pause, for winter…well, for winter doesn’t quite have the same cachet.And this one has that in spades. So what’s with the move, right?
There’s Martin Scorsese directing. And Leonardo DiCaprio leading an A-List cast that includes Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Jackie Earle Haley, and Patricia Clarkson. And a source material by a celebrated author.
What could go wrong? Not a lot, but just enough not to make this one a winner.
Set in 1954, Shutter Island follows the story of two U.S. marshals summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.
When we first meet Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo), the former is diving head first into a toilet with seasickness, while the latter is out on a ferryboat’s deck waiting for him. Yes, DiCaprio is back on a boat, but he’s not having any fun.
They talk and wonder where they’re going, what is where they’re going, and consider the secrets lie ahead on that ominous-looking island. The vibe is kinda quite a Lost-ish, made the more so by the movie’s loud and haunting score, which is the most triumphant thing in the entire project.
Daniels and Aule’s unease is confirmed as soon as they touch down on the heavily guarded island: This is no ordinary place, and their task – investigating the vanishing of Rachel Soldano, a woman who drowned her three children – will prove challenging to say the least, and illuminating to say too much.
As the marshals question doctors and patients (there are 66 in all, or are there?), under the ambiguous gaze of the hospital’s progressive-sounding directors (Kingsley and von Sydow), it becomes distressingly evident to Daniels that there’s much more to this case than a missing killer – that nothing is as it seems.
Shutter Island has many flaws, but none sticks out more, like the rocks that surround the actual island our characters are exploring, than its too-revealing exposition at the very beginning. Attentive movie-watchers will be able to get what’s going on in no time, or have an inkling that’s just this side of too right on the money.
The movie has its merits, though: Visually, it’s a bit of a mesmerize, especially the scenes DiCaprio shares with his late wife (Williams) which are scarily vibrant. And, as I mentioned, the score is brilliant – it evokes Hitchcock and imbues every scene with urgency that is simultaneously intrepidly truth seeking and decidedly moody.
The best section comes in the middle, when the movie is at its most thrilling. DiCaprio is so close to finding out what’s up, and you’ll be so sold on your own theory, that you’re right there with him. Too bad you’ll be let down with the denouement that follows. Like his Daniels, you won’t want to be believe it, either.
My Rating **1/2
Photo: Paramount Pictures.
1 comment:
Really only 2.5 stars? :(. But it looks like a good one in the previews! :(
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