Movie Review: Shutter Island…a ‘must visit’ island

A good weekend, first it was Rajneeti and now Shutter Island, both good movies. One a political drama, the other a suspense thriller. Here’s my take on the movie:

Oscar winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese,  teams up yet again with his favorite Leonardo DiCaprio to give us one of the better suspense thrillers in recent times ‘Shutter Island’.

Here goes the story – It’s 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He’s been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn’t been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy’s shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals “escape” in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything – his memory, his partner, even his own sanity (source –imdb.com)

The open ended climax is amazing and leaves you in shock! That is probably the high point of the movie.The way Martin Scorsese has shown each character in the film is great. You never actually get to know who the each character really is. Full marks to the writer, Laeta Kalogridis for penning a nail biting thriller with several twists and turns. The background music is superb and keeps alive the haunting mood of the movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio essays the complex role to perfection. Mark Ruffalo does a brilliant job and compliments Leonardo really well. It was great to see Sir Ben Kingsley in form after he was wasted in the Bollywood adaptation of 21, Teen Patti.

The only problem that I found with the movie was its length, which is 2 hrs and 18 mins. Had the movie been about 15-20 mins short, it would have easily been ranked amongst one of the best thrillers of all time.

My Rating – 4/5