Shutter Island - Movie Review

The worst thing that can happen to a movie critic is that he cannot explain just how good a movie is without revealing too much of the plot. Martin Scorsese puts one in this exact difficult spot with his latest movie - 'Shutter Island'.
The story kicks off with the mystery of a missing patient from a high security; isolated hospital for the criminally insane called the Shutter Island. US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his aide Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are summoned to investigate the issue further. Soon the US Marshalls learn that the head of the institution, Dr. Cawley (played wonderfully by Ben Kingsley) isn’t telling the complete truth and sense that the place itself could be something entirely different than what it seems to the outside world. Added to this mystery is the Teddy's hallucinations of his dead wife urging him to avenge her death by killing the person responsible who is supposedly housed within inaccessible cells of Shutter Island.


Rest of the movie is about Teddy unraveling the truth about the place and making sense of his own hallucinations. What makes this movie an extraordinary watch is the gripping story telling by the director and the perfect enactment by the cast. Leaonardo’s portrayal of Teddy Daniels as the insecure husband and the unsure detective is a visual treat and is sure to win accolades. His capability to showcase strength and weakness at the same time is something that Scorsese has exploited well in ‘The Departed’ and ‘Aviator’. I must admit that this movie is the best outing of the Scorsese-DiCaprio duo yet.


The movie is based on the best selling novel by Dennis Lehane with the same title. As the plot is set in the mid 1950's, story is devoid of mobile communications and any other sophisticated gadgets restoring the charm to the good-old detective procedures. The story is so narrated that there is still something to reveal till the last frame of the 138 mins of the movie.
A word of caution. Even though the backdrop looks eerie in most of the scenes, truth is that Shutter Island does not succeed by scaring you but will amaze you as an intelligent story enacted exceptionally well. A Must watch.

My Fav Quote: You know, this place makes me wonder. Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?
My Rating: 4.5/5