Shutter Island

I was super excited for Shutter Island to come out in the fall of 2009. I'm a huge Scorsese fan and my expectations and anticipation for this film couldn't have been higher. Unfortunately, the release date got pushed back and the film opened in February of 2010. My excitement didn't fade because of the delays but I did become a bit worried. The beginning of the year is usually a dumping ground for the crap movies that studios don't want taking up prime release dates. I had faith in Marty and kept positive as I waited the few extra months to see this movie.

When I finally saw it on opening night I left the theater feeling disappointed. Were my expectations too high? Was I distracted by my nerves because I saw it on a date? (Side note, the did went all right. The girl I asked out literally ran out of the car when I dropped her off so there was no chance for an awkward doorstep situation, which would have just ended up being extremely uneventful anyways) Well, to get into why I felt underwhelmed we have to dive deeeeep into spoiler territory, as if there is shallow water when it comes to spoilers for some people.

I felt very underwhelmed by the story, especially the twist. There are a lot of hints and clues to pick up on that Teddy is actually a patient but that revelation seemed extremely predictable. Knowing where the story was going took a lot of the suspense out of watching the film and I just waited until the big reveal. I wanted to like it more, I really did, but it fell flat for me.

Because of my prior experience with Shutter Island I thought now would be a great time to revisit it. While I wouldn't categorize it as a horror movie it does have some extremely horrifying imagery and a general gloomy tone throughout that makes it feel appropriate for the  Halloween season. Revisiting Shutter Island I was able to go in with tempered expectations and could judge the movie by its own merits.

I have to say that I enjoyed it on all levels a lot more this time around. While the story can be a bit predictable at times I was able to see a lot more of the subtext on guilt and shame. To an extent we all create false realities or memories to deal with bad things that we've done in the past. I found this exploration into the human psyche to be much more interesting than the thriller plot. However, looking for clues and giveaways of the twist did make the suspense elements a bit more radiant. It felt like being in a separate mystery all on my own, looking for the clues to solve the case.

Something I did admire the first time and perhaps was even more enraptured by tonight are the amazing visual and direction. This movie is a visual masterpiece and it's almost impossible to take your eyes off the screen . Even when it's depicting horrible atrocities it remains beautiful in its composition. I felt that every scene was stunning and it's truly a shame that it didn't receive any major awards for its technical prowess.

There are also great performances from the great cast as well. Leo brings his yelling intensity as usual (I'm not trying to knock Leo, he is one of my favorites but a youtube video brought to my attention that he does tend to yell a lot in movies and I'm not going to deny that truth). For me, the best scene is the conversation Teddy has with the patient while he's in Building C. It's somehow both intense and subtle with a very chilling atmosphere as Teddy learns that he may not be who he thinks he is.

I'm glad that I gave this film a second chance. It's masterfully constructed and if you look for the deeper meanings beyond the main twist and mystery then it becomes much more than just the average thriller.

Tomorrow, we face the end of the world with Donnie Darko...