•

Film Reviews

SHUTTER ISLAND

By • Mar 14th, 2010 •

Share This:

“Scorsese achieves something entirely different than any other film he’s done. If you involve yourself enough, it will resonate for days”

Watching the trailers for SHUTTER ISLAND I feared it might’ve suffered from what I like to call the “Hambone Twist”. You know the cheap twist at the end where everything that happened to our main character didn’t really happen but was either a dream or all in the head of another personality etc… The ‘Hambone Twist’ is usually explained through quick flashbacks where we see the images of what we thought were something, become something they apparently were in REALITY. Thankfully SHUTTER ISLAND doesn’t go that route.

Without giving things away, Scorsese’s latest, dubbed a ‘Gothic Horror suspense thriller’ is one of the smartest, thought-provoking and semi-avant garde films I’ve ever seen. He successfully creates a mood and psychological world that is able to be both lived in along with Teddy Daniels (LEONARDO DICAPRIO) and interpreted throughout. It’s a B-movie concept given an A-List treatment, interwoven with psychological paranoia and the visual flair of a true master.

Scorsese is clearly a big fan of Asian Cinema and of the idea of dreams and reality plus the psychological aspects that surround them. He even played Vincent Van Gough in Kurosawa’s “Dreams” Back in 1990. Here he uses every inch of his imagination as a narrative filmmaker, his love of music and production design and Leonardo Dicaprio’s capacity as an actor to create a memorable, challenging and oddly beautiful view of insanity and the devastation that surrounds it. Thelmaker Schoonmaker (in her 22nd collaboration with Scorsese) officially rings in the new decade as the premier “auteur” editor of our time.

In order to enjoy or at least appreciate the film I think you do have to participate and doubt yourself and ask questions and be as involving as you can. The only thing there is no doubt about is that Scorsese was having boat loads of fun manipulating the audience, creating dream sequences and challenging the minds and sanity of the viewer. He does this in one of the most profoundly original ways I seen. What’s not original, but hopefully funny is the spoof I did on youtube.com/eastchesterjester

The fact that we may walk out feeling we’re unsure or crazy like the mind of our protagonist is proof that the film is a success. The film hasn’t left my mind and has already spawned countless conversations with other viewers. In a time where so many things are forgotten so quickly, that’s something special.

Tagged as: ,
Share This Article: Digg it | del.icio.us | Google | StumbleUpon | Technorati

Comments are closed.