From the insane minds of Paramount Pictures and directed by Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” celebrates its 15th anniversary today. 

Never having been a Scorsese fan, I didn’t know what to expect going into this movie other than a basic overview of the plot and the common opinion that ‘by Scorsese standards, it’s just average.’

That being said, after watching “Shutter Island” twice over, I definitely think I need to catch up on Scorsese’s catalog.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo—already an amazing casting choice—as detective Edward “Teddy” Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule. The pair are tasked with investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a mental patient of Ashecliffe Hospital, a mental hospital located on Shutter Island.

From the get-go, the movie establishes an air of grime and uncertainty. 

I’ve always been a fan of stories where the narrator and/or supporting characters are unreliable in their recounting of events or purveying of information. It keeps me wondering and guessing where the plot will go next. For those like me, this movie will absolutely not disappoint.

An excellent set-up to this premise and subtle detail at the very beginning of the movie comes from the detective duo. Teddy is presented as an excellent detective, one utterly incapable of making a mistake or forgetting little details. However, one of his first lines is an acknowledgment that he forgot his cigarettes and he has to ask his partner Chuck for one.

Little details like this are spread throughout the movie; tiny cracks in not just Teddy or Chuck’s facade, but for every character of the movie, subtle enough that most cannot be discerned on first viewing.

Yet, no one detail is damning enough to give everything away, save that not everything is as it seems.

That being said, you receive all the pieces you need to stitch together an alternative narrative to the one spoon-fed to you by the film’s presentation. For me, it was a fun puzzle trying to fit together seemingly unrelated or disconnected plot points in a way that was coherent.

Flashbacks are prevalent throughout the film and offer insight to some characters, though whether or not these flashbacks are to be trusted is left up to the viewer, at least until the end.

Without getting into it, the movie ends in a way that resolves most plot threads, at least to the degree that the viewer is not left with too many unanswered questions.

This is one of those movies that leaves the viewer wanting more, despite having all of its questions answered by the end. This film has inspired me to look into more Scorsese films, of which I will probably watch “The Wolf of Wall Street” next.

I encourage all that might be interesting in the film, be it because DiCaprio stars in it, the fact that Scorsese directed it or even if they just heard of it from a friend, to give the movie a shot.

Which would be worse—to live having watched this movie, or to die having never given it a chance?

Categories: Arts & Entertainment