Much like my review of Moon below, I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet as not to give the story away. First off let me just say that I freaking loved Shutter Island. Some people told me that they new what was going on straight off the bat. I knew something was up for sure, but I wasn't able to fully piece it all together until the very end. But even if you do already have it figured out, Shutter Island is still an extremely well made film that will haunt you long after you leave the theater.
Martin Scorsese has ventured into the creepy horror type mystery before with another underrated and overlooked film called Bringing Out The Dead and, oh yeah, CAPE FEAR. So Marty certainly knows how to effectively creep out an audience, and doing so with perfect cinematic style. Right off the bat in the opening scene we see a massive ship carrying Teddy and Chuck, played by Leonardo Dicaprio and Mark Ruffalo. The ship slowly comes into view breaking through the thick fog and all we here for a minute are the sounds of the ship sounding it's horn and it's just so effective and creepy. Then once they arrive minutes later the score kicks in. It's a lot like the score of The Shining and it really effected me, I loved it.
Leo did an amazing job as Teddy. He never disappoints with his acting skills and his film choices. Even though he still looks like he's 20 he proves that he can play anyone anywhere, and that's called great acting. I thought his best scenes were the scenes with him and Michelle Williams. They were so effective and emotional. One scene towards the beginning he's just standing and holding her and crying and the score kicks in and Leo delivers the tears and it was just really amazing to watch on screen.
Shutter Island is a film that requires many viewings even if you do have it figured out. There's just so many hidden clues and even different ways things can be interoperated. Some cool little tid bits I found out was that two of the main wardens were played by the two amazing actors Ted Levine and John Carroll Lynch who both played serial killers in Silence of the Lambs and Zodiac. Levine playing Buffalo Bill, and Lynch playing who we think is the zodiac killer. It was a nice touch. I can't wait to get my gitty little paws on this blu-ray, I'm gonna watch it so many damn times. Shutter Island gets a 5 outa 5.
