Shutter Island Poster

In the new thriller Shutter Island, Leonardo DiCaprio plays US Marshal Teddy Daniels on a search for an escaped mental patient in 1954.  Mark Ruffalo plays his new partner, Chuck Aule.

The US Marshals come to the hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island to apprehend a patient who has seemingly disappeared without any trace.  They meet varying levels of resistance from the hospital staff, interacting most notably with Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and Dr. Jeremiah Naering (Max von Sydow).  The arrival of a hurricane complicates their search and ensures that the marshals remain on the island.  Flashbacks reveal crucial information about Marshal Daniels’ family background and military service in World War II, as well as his ulterior motives for investigating this case.

Director Martin Scorsese effectively creates an atmosphere of dread and uncertain sanity as Marshal Daniels searches for the missing patient, Rachel Solando.  It becomes apparent early on that everything is not as it seems, and Daniels discovers evidence that suggests government conspiracy, cover-up of medical experimentation, and harboring of Nazi war criminals.  Leonardo DiCaprio plays a character obviously traumatized by events in his past, and as the film progresses his obsession with solving the mystery grows.  DiCaprio’s first scene with Max von Sydow is particularly good, as the characters size each other up and the marshal comes to an important realization.

My only complaint with Shutter Island is that the movie’s big reveal was telegraphed so early in the plot.  It’s an odd complaint, but Scorsese does such a good job of creating a foreboding atmosphere and DiCaprio does such a good job of portraying a haunted figure pursuing his obsession, that what should be a shocking finale is instead somewhat obvious.  It would also have been a more satisfying conclusion, to my taste, if the ending left one wondering what had really happened, rather that having it spelled out so clearly.

This is a minor complaint though.  The movie was thoroughly enjoyable, entirely due to Scorsese’s dark atmosphere and Dicaprio’s portrayal of diminishing sanity.  Shutter Island brought in an initial $40.2 million in its opening weekend, according to USA Today.

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