“NOT PICTURE PERFECT”
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley and Max von Sydow
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violent content, language and some nudity.
Genre: Drama/Adventure/Suspense
Release Date: February 19, 2010
By John Delia
My eagerness for the release of Shutter Island, a suspense film directed by Martin Scorsese ended with disappointment after seeing the flick the other night. What I figured from the trailer as an intriguing thriller, turned out to be a ‘Hitchcockesque’ concoction with metaphors from the likes of Spellbound, North by Northwest, Marnie and Vertigo without the twists and surprise ending. If you go to see the film, you will be served up some excellent acting and cinematography, but don’t expect a cherry on the dessert.
In the center of the plot is U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) who has been called to the psycho reformatory of Shutter Island to lead a search for a missing inmate from their insane asylum. In tow is his new partner Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) who seems to be more in Daniels way than helpful to the search. The two interview inmates, nursing staffs and orderlies in an attempt to find out what has happened to the female that was institutionalized there because she had drowned her three children. When all Daniels’ leads have been exhausted, he turns his attention to the asylum’s doctors and their lobotomy lab lighthouse.
I’m a big fan of Scorsese films (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed) and I’ve even had the opportunity to meet him in person. But, I had a problem with his latest release, Shutter Island. It’s predictable, convoluted and doesn’t maintain the entertainment value of his previous films. That said however, he knows how to direct and this film is one you can go to school on for the technical aspect. His character control, mood development and attention to detail are superb.
So where do I feel he went wrong? The script is impossible to put up on the screen without giving away the finale early on. In other words it is predictable. Now for me predictability is not all that bad if your content has a lot of entertainment value and doesn’t purposely confuse in an attempt for a twist ending. In other words it’s the thrill ride getting to the expected ending that counts, and in Shutter Island it fails to do so. Scorsese distracts his audience with empty scenes that fill screen time but are not necessary to the plot. Things for example like a cave visit by Daniels to the supposed missing person and a meaningless run in the woods during a hurricane.
DiCaprio and Kingsley are brilliant in their performances, but the standout performances go to Jackie Earle Hale. He plays a scabby character named George Noyce who gets lashes out at Daniels during an interrogation in his cell. Michelle Williams is an excellent choice as Daniels bewildered wife Delores who looses control of her senses.
The film is rated R for disturbing violent content, language and some male nudity. This is not one of those films that you can tag along immature children.
FINAL ANALYSIS: An impossible undertaking, even for the best directors, that shows on the screen. (2.5 of 5 Palm Trees)
FEATURED BIOGRAPHY FROM THE FILM:
Michelle Williams: Even though Michelle hasn’t had a huge career like most of the other cast leaders in Shutter Island, her list of films and TV appearances is impressive. Her awareness was heightened by an Oscar nomination for her role of Elma the wife of
Heath Ledger’s character in Brokeback Mountain. She later won a Gotham Award and an Independent Spirit Award as part of the ensemble cast of Synecdoche, New York in 2008. Her nominations are many from film critics to guilds for performances in The Station Agent (2003), Dick (1999), Halloween H2O (1998), “Dawson’s Creek†(1998), Wendy & Lucy (2008) and many more.
Born in 1980 she was already in television’s “Baywatch†by the age of 13. Her first film role was the character April Potter in the 1994 remake of Lassie. Performing in some 34 productions, she played along side the likes of Ben Kingsley (Species, Shutter Island), Michelle Pfeiffer (A Thousand Acres), Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween H20), Kristen Dunst (Dick), Christina Ricci (Prozac Nation), Sigourney Weaver (Imaginary Heroes), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Synecdoche, New York) and Cate Blanchette (I’m Not There) to name a few. She had a daughter with Heath Ledger in 2006 before their separation in 2007.
Williams can be seen in the upcoming Blue Valentine opposite Ryan Gosling. She also completed a film called Meeks Cutoff with rising star Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood).