Capsule Film Review: Shutter Island (2010)

In 1954 US Marshall Edward “Teddy” Daniels, played by Leonardo di Caprio, comes to an island off Massachusetts coast in order to investigate escape of a patient from psychiatric hospital. His investigation hampered by storm that severed connection with outside world, open animosity of the hospital staff and Daniel’s own psychological traumas. Shutter Island, based on the novel by Hollywood-friendly writer Dennis Lehane, was directed by Martin Scorsese, who used it as an opportunity to show that he could make dark thrillers with a “clever” twist, the very same kind that made M. Night Shyamalan famous. Although motives of Cold War anxiety make Gothic thriller somewhat interesting, the obligatory twist ending doesn’t look that original or surprising, and the pacing is too slow. On the other hand, superb acting and Scorsese’s direction make Shutter Island much better than most recent Hollywood examples of the genre.

RATING: 5/10