In his fourth collaboration with the masterful Martin Scorsese, 35-year-old actor Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a captivating performance as a man haunted by his violent past. Together these two artists unravel a psychological thriller of suspense and spooks that recalls a classic Hitchcockian style.
In Shutter Island, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) gathers his nerves for a seemingly inexplicable case at a mental institution for the criminally insane, circa 1954 and the Cold War. A dangerous woman who murdered her three young children escaped from a bolted room under 24-hour watch. ”Get yourself together” Teddy tells himself in the mirror on the ferry ride over, the opening line of a mind-bending movie that rarely allows its audience a moment of comfort.
Teddy and his new partner Chuck (an understated, exquisite Mark Ruffalo) are greeted by a squadron of heavily-armed, jittery guards who bristle at protocol breaches and consistently lurk in the background. Equally mysterious psychiatrists, Dr. Cawley (an illusive Ben Kingsley) and Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow), offer enough details on the patient’s disappearance to send minds reeling. The secrets of the island’s uncooperative staff only contribute to a deepening paranoia as Teddy uncovers more pieces to the baffling puzzle.
An ominous score sets the mood for an unsettling display of disturbing images. Apart from the eerie inhabitants of the maximum security facility, Teddy becomes increasingly immersed in vivid hallucinations of his deceased wife (Michelle Williams) or chilling memories of bodies stacked in Nazi death camps. One such gruesome flashback sets up a brutal, fluid tracking shot where the surrendered German officers are lined up and justly executed for their horrific crimes. Spliced intermittently within an already creepy narrative, the visions only heighten an uneasy tone Scorsese draws effectively throughout.
This marks the third powerful adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel — the other two were Mystic River and Gone, Baby Gone — in a clever series of plot-twisting films about authority figures wading in the dark depths of humanity. Teddy’s quest for redemption is to find the man who killed his wife and “blow the lid off” Cawley’s devious dealings, putting an end to a history of violence.
His efforts are hindered by a tumultuous storm that ravages the island and its security, a chaotic manifestation of the battle raging in his own mind. DiCaprio is skillful enough to physically deteriorate on screen, becoming an intense, frazzled, skittish version of the character as time progresses and confuses. Equally impressive is his consistency when dropping his R’s in a subtle Boston accent.
Repeat viewings will only enhance a deeper appreciation for Shutter Island‘s intricate plotting and the nuanced performances, including its supporting cast of Jackie Earle Haley, Emily Mortimer, and Patricia Clarkson. Scorsese’s newest masterpiece will leave you with thought-provoking material, it’s complexity, imagery, and emotion churning in your mind.
4 out of 5.
