Is this real?

After last week’s frivolousness at the movie theatre I thought it best to watch something of substance this week. I needed to watch something that wasn’t so packed with cheese that it may induce a heart attack. Something that made the mind work and wasn’t just filler. I needed to watch a film not a movie. And I chose right.

Shutter Island is no ordinary asylum. It houses some of the most brutal criminally insane individuals. The island is remote with unforgiving terrain and the institution is built like a hospital but guarded like a prison. Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are US Marshals assigned to investigate the disappearance of a missing prisoner/patient who mysteriously vanished from her room at the mental institution. Dr Cawley (Ben Kingsley) is their liaison on the island. His behaviour seems strange to Teddy; his responses vague veiled in helpfulness. Even though Teddy is told all the staff will co-operate he finds himself road blocked at every turn. But he is not there only on official business but there is also something personal he has to take care of. He knows there is something wrong and the clues he uncovers and the behaviour of everyone he encounters only adds to his belief. In the midst of all of this Teddy and Chuck find themselves stuck on the island which has been hit by a vicious storm cutting them off from the mainland.

I find it hard to properly describe the viewing of this movie. Martin Scorsese mixes reality, terrifying flash backs, and strange nightmare sequences, sometimes abruptly, sometimes seamlessly, that watching the movie is like being in some waking dream.

Teddy is a WWII vet and being at the asylum causes him to have flashbacks of an interment camp that are so disturbing, horrifying, that it is hard to watch. But this is what Scorsese is known for, grittiness, he doesn’t sugar coat anything and leaves little to the imagination. There are starved prisoners with pleading eyes, blood seeping from a gaping wound, and bodies, piles of bodies, abandoned and frozen in grotesque crystallized forms. Teddy also has strange enigmatic dreams about his dead wife. The imagery is full of brilliant colour, cryptic speak, and distressing depictions. These put together with the strangeness of the lunatics at the asylum makes this movie tense and unsettling.

The acting in the movie excellent with actors like DiCaprio, Ruffalo, and Kingsley it is expected. Michelle Williams plays Delores, Teddy’s wife, and she does an awesome job with the strange role. Her character appears in Teddy’s confused dreams where she is solemn, odd, and sweet all at the same time. The rest of the supporting cast is also great especially the actors playing the inmates. Without their psychotic demeanour the movie would have come across lame and false. But their screams, twitches, and vulgarity are convincing adding to the overall tone of the film.

The Shutter Island script is detailed. There is so much in the movie it is almost dizzying and each word is important. At points I did find there was just a little too much talking going on but in the end it was all necessary and nothing is wasted. There are also some scenes where there is no dialogue at all; the silence was heavy creating an ominous tone.

Shutter Island is not an easy film to watch. There is a lot of speak, some are areas seemed to drag a bit, and then there are the visuals but I think it is definitely worth a look. There is a balance of artistic expression and good storytelling.

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