Shutter Island

I hated this movie!!!!!  It was dark, gloomy, repetitive and uninteresting.  I thought I would probably not love it based on the trailer but still expected more from a Martin Scorsese film.  I am not sure why it is getting such rave reviews; it really surpasses me what people saw in it.

The thriller is set in the 1950's, with Leonardo DiCaprio interpreting a U.S. Marshal, and Mark Ruffalo as his partner.  Together they are investigating the disappearance of a dangerous inmate from an insane asylum on the very isolated Shutter Island.

The atmosphere and music are ominous from the start, much like the opening scenes of Scorsese's 1991 Cape Fear.  It rains constantly on Shutter Island and the decor is conveniently populated with cliffs and a towering lighthouse where a dramatic (if somewhat disappointing) plot twist later takes place. 

There are lots of twists and turns and psychological unraveling on the part of DiCaprio's character.  He is haunted by flashbacks of scenes he witnessed of concentration camps during WW2, and visions of his murdered wife played by Michelle Williams.  DiCaprio's performance was skillful and talented, as was Ruffalo's.  Ben Kingsley was appropriately dramatic in his portrayal of the chief psychiatrist at the institution.

The movie carried on for quite long and its ambiguous ending was not enough to redeem its exasperating, overly paranoid quality which veered too much towards the horror genre for my taste.  More boring than horrifying, I give it a 3.

My rating: 3/10
Fabio's: 4/10
Total score: 7/20