Shutter Island(2010)
* * * * / * * * *
"You know, this place makes me wonder.."
"Yeah, what's that, boss?"
"Which would be worse? To live as a monster, or to die as a good man?"
Wow, what a movie! I am not gonna go in depth, others more highly skilled at breaking down this psychological thriller's premise have already done so, regarding how the plot reveals details about a US Marshall's trip to Shutter Island, seeking to bring the mental asylum, and those villains who run it, down, to expose their corrupt tactics towards the patients. Sometimes, fiction is simply more easy to handle and accept than the truth..that's what I got out of this movie.
Boy, am I glad Scorsese is still around making movies. This movie is beautiful to look at and experience. I had forgotten just how special camera work can be when the right man is behind the camera. I love a movie that fucks with you and we follow down that dark road along with DiCaprio until the heart-wrenching, painful conclusion when a person must confront the inevitable truth that must be dealt with.
I love how CGI can be used in an effective way when the man directing the movie knows how to use the fx in striking ways such as when Teddy Daniels'(DiCaprio)wife turns to ash in his arms. I go on and on about fluid camera work, I know I can be an insufferable bore because of my ravings, but to see it applied to such a haunting film as this, it makes me appreciate and admire Scorsese's genius even more.
God, I just love Kingsley in this movie, he seems to be so mysterious, holding possible secrets which gives him a sinister aura. And, DiCaprio, under Scorsese, he seems to have found the perfect director to pull from him all his talents as an actor. And, this institution, gosh, how eerie this place as photographed by Scorsese. What a treat to sit through. Scorsese even included a spiral staircase inside a lighthouse, we get to visit the spooky confines of Ward C where all the dangerous patients are kept, and two actors portray creepy inmates that are hard to forget(Elias Koteas, with a stapled scar down his face, as a killer who supposedly murdered his wife and, especially Jackie Earle Haley, as Noyce, the one who seems to have been betrayed by the system, a catalyst for Daniels' paranoia).
The tragedy involving a disturbed mother drowning her three children is highly potent and powerfully presented throughout the movie. Everything Daniels encounters is like a piece to a puzzle. Scorsese really gripped me all the way through, I never lost interest in the least. I was particularly intrigued by how Michelle Williams was used in this movie, as she portrays the wife of DiCaprio, always warning her husband of imminent danger. And, the inclusion of Dacau and how this war has left a lasting scar with Teddy(a memory that has left Teddy tormented)is stunning in it's potency. Everything about this movie, to me, is inspired and ambitious, new territory for Scorsese, and I'm glad he decided to step out of his comfort zone and try something a bit different. He sure equips himself with a gallery of great faces, established actors who add so much to the quality of the movie. What a winner. Color me impressed. Probably my favorite scene involves warden played by Ted Levine and DiCaprio regarding "God and violence". It's such a bewildering scene with some bizarre dialogue. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, it makes sense!
"You know, this place makes me wonder.."
"Yeah, what's that, boss?"
"Which would be worse? To live as a monster, or to die as a good man?"
Wow, what a movie! I am not gonna go in depth, others more highly skilled at breaking down this psychological thriller's premise have already done so, regarding how the plot reveals details about a US Marshall's trip to Shutter Island, seeking to bring the mental asylum, and those villains who run it, down, to expose their corrupt tactics towards the patients. Sometimes, fiction is simply more easy to handle and accept than the truth..that's what I got out of this movie.
Boy, am I glad Scorsese is still around making movies. This movie is beautiful to look at and experience. I had forgotten just how special camera work can be when the right man is behind the camera. I love a movie that fucks with you and we follow down that dark road along with DiCaprio until the heart-wrenching, painful conclusion when a person must confront the inevitable truth that must be dealt with.
I love how CGI can be used in an effective way when the man directing the movie knows how to use the fx in striking ways such as when Teddy Daniels'(DiCaprio)wife turns to ash in his arms. I go on and on about fluid camera work, I know I can be an insufferable bore because of my ravings, but to see it applied to such a haunting film as this, it makes me appreciate and admire Scorsese's genius even more.
God, I just love Kingsley in this movie, he seems to be so mysterious, holding possible secrets which gives him a sinister aura. And, DiCaprio, under Scorsese, he seems to have found the perfect director to pull from him all his talents as an actor. And, this institution, gosh, how eerie this place as photographed by Scorsese. What a treat to sit through. Scorsese even included a spiral staircase inside a lighthouse, we get to visit the spooky confines of Ward C where all the dangerous patients are kept, and two actors portray creepy inmates that are hard to forget(Elias Koteas, with a stapled scar down his face, as a killer who supposedly murdered his wife and, especially Jackie Earle Haley, as Noyce, the one who seems to have been betrayed by the system, a catalyst for Daniels' paranoia).
The tragedy involving a disturbed mother drowning her three children is highly potent and powerfully presented throughout the movie. Everything Daniels encounters is like a piece to a puzzle. Scorsese really gripped me all the way through, I never lost interest in the least. I was particularly intrigued by how Michelle Williams was used in this movie, as she portrays the wife of DiCaprio, always warning her husband of imminent danger. And, the inclusion of Dacau and how this war has left a lasting scar with Teddy(a memory that has left Teddy tormented)is stunning in it's potency. Everything about this movie, to me, is inspired and ambitious, new territory for Scorsese, and I'm glad he decided to step out of his comfort zone and try something a bit different. He sure equips himself with a gallery of great faces, established actors who add so much to the quality of the movie. What a winner. Color me impressed. Probably my favorite scene involves warden played by Ted Levine and DiCaprio regarding "God and violence". It's such a bewildering scene with some bizarre dialogue. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, it makes sense!
Comments
Post a Comment