Scorsese and Dicaprio # 4

Dr. John Cawley: We don't know how she got out of her room. It's as if she evaporated, straight through the walls.

Two us Marshalls are sent to investigate the disappearence of a patient at a mental institution, but as soon as they get their they realize nothing is as it seems, no one is willing to talk or give them the information they need. Teddy (Dicaprio) is also involved in the case for his own personal reasons. His partner Chuch (Ruffalo) is newly relocated Marshal and this is his first case working with Teddy. The island is not what it seems to be, there are a stockpile of questions that never seem to get answered.

When I heard that this film was going to be made by the team of Scorsese and Dicaprio I knew right away this was going to be an intensely dark and dreary drama with little to know hope for the characters in the film. That mood is established right away in the film, with eerie music and dark and depressing war flashbacks. Scorsese uses lighting to perfection, making the building seem darker then one would believe it to be, this is a trick used to build our anticipation to the thrilling climax. What I liked the best was the unhappy fantasy feel to the flashbacks, you could tell right away it was flashback and that it was all part of the nightmares Teddy has been having.

As everyone already knows I am a huge fan of both Dicaprio and Scorsese, both together and separately, their careers speak for themselves, and now with the fourth collaboration the created a truly authentic and well acted Psychological thriller. This was best movie I have ever seen classified under the genre of horror. Horrors need to have the real life feel to them; play on the craziest of the crazy.

And as he has in recent years Dicaprio gives off another award worthy performance that he wont win for, its a shame the academy keeps passing on this guy, when is he finally going to win. Three previous noms and he strikes out going 0/3. I find that ridiculous especially if you take a look at what he was nominated for. We all were hoping this would come out in October and make a strong push for both Dicaprio and Scorsese but that didn’t happen. Now it has to hold up against the entire year of films, which includes another film starring Leonardo Dicaprio. When Dicaprio finally wins an Academy Award (Which he will) I will be happy for him, because looking at his career thus far it is hard to believe he isn’t nominated every time he turns in a performance

Ben Kingsley was perfect for the role of Cawley, Kingsley has that notion about him, the intelligent man wise beyond his years, and this performance is probably one of the best I have seen from him in recent years. I like this guy, he has a lot heart as an actor and he made a good choice.

This film was as good as they come, for a film that won’t win an award, this film was visually intense, the setting with the island and the Warden and the doctors and the patients as they walked in. All a way of showing the audience how creepy this film was going to be. But down the line they switched the focus from visually creppy to emotionally and mentally creepy.

This feeling was portrayed by the near perfect cast, Dicaprio and Ruffalo, Kingsley, Michelle Williams. They all had different emotions to portray. Dicaprio one of distrust, Ruffalo played his character is the easy going guy just tagging along for the journey. Kingsley played Cawley with the hint of mystery to him, but he continued to maintain the fact that there was no larger conspiracy happening. Michelle Williams for the most part played Dolores as the perfect image in Teddy’s mind. But as the film progressed she began to take on another image, that of the one thing Teddy always felt guilty about.

I do admit one thing, without Scorsese beautifully imagining the scenery, this film movie probably wouldn’t have been so good. It was Scorsese willing to do what many filmmakers won’t, create authentic emotions will keeping the element of surprise completely intact.

There has been a lot of debate over certain things that took place in the film, and I don’t want to reveal too much, but there is no question as the outcome of the film, there are a few scenes that really depict this, and maybe you had some questions after reading the novel, but the film answers all of them, as I was hoping the visuals would give more closure then the words on the page. Still this is finally a book adaptation that has been handled with precision and care. The thing is, Dennis Lehane novel adaptations seem to have a knack for being turned into stellar films. Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and now Shutter Island, three of the best films I have had the pleasure of watching. Dennis Lehane also likes to be an observer of the script being penned for adaptations of his novels. He ensures they will be done to his liking, and I can respect that, no author wants to see their work torn to bits buy a terrible script and a terrible film crew. Dennis Lehane is a great writer, his stories drag you in and they wont let you go until even when they do you are still searching for more. They have a way of gripping you tightly, and you hope for the best while ultimately knowing the best is never what happens.

This is the film I have been waiting for since I read the novel, and this is probably going to head straight to the top of my list of book to film adaptations which already includes Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. Dicaprio, Kingsley, Williams and Ruffalo are perfectly in synch together that it gets way to emotionally intense during its final moments.


9/10