Member review

Shutter Island (dir. Scorsese, 2010) is a neo-noir thriller set in 1954 featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as the US Marshall Teddy Daniels, who is sent with his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) to an island housing a hospital for the criminally insane.

The film mixes surreal dream sequences with an investigation by the key characters, blurring the lines between delusion and reality. Scorsese uses unsettling shots to add to this effect and create drama.

The film is a certificate 12, which makes sense with the overall dark tone and chilling scenes.

The film contains a few twists, some of which I found predictable and badly handled; Scorsese dwells on them rather than packing a punch.

Shutter Island is an intriguing film with a rare, dark tone and cold, creepy atmosphere. It combines talented actors with strange cinematography to create an unusual vibe, fit for the unusual story, however it fails to impress in parts: awkward twists and details which may be confusing to some viewers, but still worth a watch for fans of DiCaprio and the thriller genre.