Movie Summary of Shutter Island by Michael The Moviegoer.
SHUTTER ISLAND = ***1/2
“Scorsese Flies Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”
Would you believe that a movie about an FBI agent arriving at an insane asylum to question a serial killer about a mysterious event could open in February and a year later win Oscars in all five top categories, Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay? Have I got you wondering if “Shutter Island” can really be THAT good? Well, the answer to my tricky question is that this has already happened. Back in February of 1991 “The Silence Of The Lambs” opened. An entire year later it won in all five top Oscar categories.
That was 20 years ago. The way the business is run today, that could never happen. Films considered to be Oscar bait are released in the fourth quarter. Films whose Oscar hopes have been abandoned get released in February. How, then, does Martin Scorsese’s magnificent psychological thriller “Shutter Island” get pushed from its original opening date of October 2009 to February 2010? Shame on everyone involved in that decision.
Let me describe how the difference of a few months might have radically changed the current Oscar ballot. Leonardo DiCaprio would be considered the front-runner for his first Best Actor Oscar instead of Jeff Bridges. Maggie Gyllenhaal would be deleted from Best Supporting Actress by Patricia Clarkson. And “Shutter Island” would give everyone a run for their money in the categories of Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Art Direction, Editing and Cinematography. It’s THAT good!
DiCaprio plays a federal marshal arriving at an insane asylum to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient. The fact that this asylum is run by Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow would make this movie a lot of fun even if it wasn’t any good. I don’t want to say much more about the plot because the twist is pure genius. No spoilers here.
Martin Scorsese is clearly a filmmaker in love with making films. His past films show that he has been influenced by a wide variety of cinematic styles. But none of his previous efforts prepared me for the style that “Shutter Island” most closely resembles. This film looks like the Hammer horror films of the 1960s. Much of the art direction and cinematography recall many of Hammer’s best from “The Horror Of Dracula” to “The Skull”. It’s those dead leaves flying around bare trees with empty black branches that scrape across a purple-gray sky. For Martin Scorsese, it’s Hammer time! For anyone who loves movies, put “Shutter Island” on your must-see list right now.
DVD Double Feature: In 1978 Michael Crichton directed a smart medical thriller called “Coma” about a sinister conspiracy among doctors at a strange hospital. Doctors Genevieve Bujold and Michael Douglas attempt to investigate the strange disappearance of patients. Low key, yet very suspenseful.
Michael The Moviegoer
