Film: Shutter Island
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio (The Departed), Mark Ruffalo (My Sister's Keeper), and Ben Kingsley (War Inc.)
U.S. Release 2010 (rated R)
Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed, Gangs of New York)
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 138 minutes
Martin Scorsese finally entered the Oscar's win column for his 2006 masterpiece, The Departed. Despite the long win-less stretch, the renowned director's portfolio speaks for itself. His victory was long overdue, but don't let that deter from the actual movie. Anyone who knows me, knows how highly I regard The Departed. The gangster flick even topped my December blog listing my top 20 movies of the past decade. Couple that with the fact Scorsese was teaming up with Leonardo Dicaprio again, how could Shutter Island disappoint?
The film is set in 1950s Boston. U.S. Marshalls Teddy Daniels (Dicaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) visit the remote Shutter Island, which houses an insane asylum. They are investigating the disappearance of a criminally insane patient who has escaped the mental hospital. After receiving very little aid from the asylum's supervisor Dr. Cawley (Kingsley), the two officers begin to suspect that there's something strange going on at Shutter Island.
The premise sounds clever, I know. However, Scorsese's film goes off in all the wrong directions. Shutter Island finds itself unraveling in the same mediocre and typical fashion that plagues many recent thrillers. In an attempt to be clever, Marty's little clues are too obvious and too simple. We should expect more from a director of his stature.
Now, moving onto Leonardo Dicaprio. Much like Scorsese, Leo's brilliant resume needs too be typed in size 8 font because of the number of films he's carried. Despite the lengthy and successful career he's had, Dicaprio really let the audience down with this role. His character was a mirror image of his 2006 portrayal of William Costigan in The Departed. So for 2 hours and 18 minutes I kept wishing for Leo to do something new with Teddy Daniels. Unfortunately, I waited for something that never happened.
Shutter Island will be praised inaccurately by many. I am no Sherlock Holmes, and rarely do I predict endings, but this one stared me right in the face. I kept watching the film in hopes that it wouldn't end in the lame and predictable way in which it did. For two legends of cinema we all should expect much, much more.
Watch Shutter Island if you enjoyed: The Number 23. Yet another mediocre thriller to find yourself disappointed with.
Stars: 1 and a half out of 4.
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio (The Departed), Mark Ruffalo (My Sister's Keeper), and Ben Kingsley (War Inc.)
U.S. Release 2010 (rated R)
Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed, Gangs of New York)
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 138 minutes
Martin Scorsese finally entered the Oscar's win column for his 2006 masterpiece, The Departed. Despite the long win-less stretch, the renowned director's portfolio speaks for itself. His victory was long overdue, but don't let that deter from the actual movie. Anyone who knows me, knows how highly I regard The Departed. The gangster flick even topped my December blog listing my top 20 movies of the past decade. Couple that with the fact Scorsese was teaming up with Leonardo Dicaprio again, how could Shutter Island disappoint?
The film is set in 1950s Boston. U.S. Marshalls Teddy Daniels (Dicaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) visit the remote Shutter Island, which houses an insane asylum. They are investigating the disappearance of a criminally insane patient who has escaped the mental hospital. After receiving very little aid from the asylum's supervisor Dr. Cawley (Kingsley), the two officers begin to suspect that there's something strange going on at Shutter Island.
The premise sounds clever, I know. However, Scorsese's film goes off in all the wrong directions. Shutter Island finds itself unraveling in the same mediocre and typical fashion that plagues many recent thrillers. In an attempt to be clever, Marty's little clues are too obvious and too simple. We should expect more from a director of his stature.
Now, moving onto Leonardo Dicaprio. Much like Scorsese, Leo's brilliant resume needs too be typed in size 8 font because of the number of films he's carried. Despite the lengthy and successful career he's had, Dicaprio really let the audience down with this role. His character was a mirror image of his 2006 portrayal of William Costigan in The Departed. So for 2 hours and 18 minutes I kept wishing for Leo to do something new with Teddy Daniels. Unfortunately, I waited for something that never happened.
Shutter Island will be praised inaccurately by many. I am no Sherlock Holmes, and rarely do I predict endings, but this one stared me right in the face. I kept watching the film in hopes that it wouldn't end in the lame and predictable way in which it did. For two legends of cinema we all should expect much, much more.
Watch Shutter Island if you enjoyed: The Number 23. Yet another mediocre thriller to find yourself disappointed with.
Stars: 1 and a half out of 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment