Movie of My Week: Shutter Island (2010)
Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 12:01AM 
Hard not to like or be intrigued by anything Scorsese does, but I've really liked him more and more over the years, as I found the early stuff just TOOO gritty and dark. So big fan of "Goodfellas," "Casino," and especially his remake of the Asian films ("Infernal Affairs" series) in "The Departed."
Being a fan of Hitchcock, I felt this was going to be Scorsese' homage in that direction, and I wasn't disappointed. I didn't see this in theaters, although my wife and daughter did, so I came at it totally fresh (no knowledge of Lehane novel) in my home theater last week, and I simply loved it--almost frame by frame. Thelma Schoonmaker, as always, is the film editor, with Robert Richardson as cinematographer. From the opening shot, I fell in love with the texture, the crisp lighting, the swooping camera work (there is an opening shot as DiCaprio approaches the facility in a truck that is textbook stunning), and especially the eye-popping clarity of the shots--all very Hitchcock. Music sometimes overwhelmed but was nonetheless fascinating, because it was all pre-recorded stuff adapted--a Scorsese trademark but here a lot of classical and some Brian Eno tossed in!
DiCaprio is a worthy muse for Scorsese, and I've liked everything they've done together (incl. "Aviator"). Mark Ruffalo was at his best, and totally sold the time-frame (1950s). Kingsley and Sydow their usual fab.
But again, it was the way the film was shot that really grabbed my attention, right from the start. It had a dream-like quality to it that served the film's purposes incredibly well.
My advice: get and watch but learn nothing beforehand about the plot, because it's worth all the surprises and guessing. Having now seen it and been blown away by all the plot twists, I still want to view it again, just to drink in the look and feel and the acting--a sign of a classic.
I have no idea why the film wasn't embraced more by audiences, although it did well. To me, the best film I've seen so far this year.
Reader Comments (2)
Just saw Avatar again at home..no 3D...and enjoyed seeing stuff I missed. Did find myself fast forwarding through parts that had only humans in them. Guess I'm tired of humans right now.
Maybe "Toy Story" is what I need.
I saw the film with my son when it first came out. I loved it! It was probably not more popular due to being a psycological thriller and not so much in the bells and whistles department. =)