DiCaprio embarks on psychological thriller
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February 24, 2010
Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” is a twisted thriller that leaves its audience stunned in their seats after a roller coaster of emotion and suspense interspersed with many humorous quips.
Set in the late 1950s, the secluded Shutter Island houses an insane asylum, where the most dangerous mental patients are kept. U.S. Marshalls Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are sent to the island to solve the mystery of Rachel (Emily Mortimer), a patient who murdered her three children and has since escaped the asylum.
She disappeared from her room despite the extremely tight security. Daniels and Aule interrogate the doctors, nurses, orderlies and patients to find out where Rachel is but they instead find them all to be a part of a conspiracy to keep them on the island. The head psychiatrist, Dr. Crawley (Ben Kingsley) also appears to be part of the conspiracy, trying to convince Daniels that he is criminally insane due to his past.
Daniels is haunted by his past of being a World War II soldier who stormed Nazi concentration camps and murdered Nazi soldiers. He is also haunted by the death of his wife, played by Michelle Williams of “Brokeback Mountain,” whom he believes was tragically murdered in a fire at the asylum on Shutter Island. Daniels is looking for the truth behind his wife’s death and that is one of the reasons he asked to be assigned to the Shutter Island case.
Scorsese is known for his graphic, action-packed films and “Shutter Island” is no exception. This movie is rated R for disturbing violence, language and non-sexual nudity.
The movie looks into the issue of human testing known to have been practiced by the Nazi’s during the Holocaust. The movie is set in a time period where being criminally insane was something to be ashamed of. The mentally handicapped were seen as not human and were therefore subject to many forms of torture.
DiCaprio plays another fantastic role in this film. He balances his character’s violent history with his tough U.S. Marshall persona while still showing a vulnerable, terrified side. Although he plays a tough cop who has a hatred for German communists and psychiatrists, he shows his emotional side with his drive to find the truth, no matter what it takes. Ruffalo is an excellent level-headed partner to DiCaprio, his twisted, confused boss who seems paranoid of everything around him.
Williams also gave a wonderful performance of a hauntingly beautiful, yet terrifying wife to DiCaprio, who also has multiple personalities that force the audience to both love and hate her.
From beginning to end, “Shutter Island” is a nail-biting thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. “Shutter Island” is the next “Sixth Sense,” full of mind-blowing twists and an unpredictable ending.