Shutter Island - Movie Review

Shutter Island

Review by Catherine Chusney

Ever thought you could be an insane criminal living in your dream world? After watching this you will start to question your own sanity.

The story is about a Marshall who travels to an island where the criminally insane are kept. This Marshall is known as Edwards Daniels. Edward Daniels arrives with a new partner who he doesn’t know and has never worked before called Chuck. That immediately makes you that Chuck is part of something that is happening on the island. As the story goes on Edward Daniels starts to get suspicious of the people who run the asylum on Shutter Island and things start to go bad for Edward Daniels.

The storyline is unique in a way that it has a strange twist to the end. This is one of those films where you have to watch it all the way through as you end up being confused. Attention to detail is shown throughout the film even though it is not made obvious. This makes the audience ask questions like ‘why do the guards of the asylum look like they are ready to shoot?’ or ‘Are the Doctors trying to make him insane?’The music added more suspense to the film and adding a touch of scary to it, making it interesting to watch. Leonardo DiCaprio is extraordinary at playing a character like Edward Daniels as his character is violent, emotional and crazy. Or is he? That is what I like about Shutter Island; it leaves you asking all sorts of questions throughout the film and after you have watched it. Leaving the audience to ask themselves or each other questions is what makes the film so amazing and effective. The cast for the film was a perfect selection and choice as they were all good at presenting their characters in the film.

I would class this as a crafty suspense thriller. There are things that are obvious but not easy to spot and the obvious things become noticeable after you have seen the film and know the ending because those tiny details help to make the ending obvious and you can tell that why it ended the way it did. I like that as it makes Shutter Island a scary suspense thriller which is made that way through the music, the eerie location and the story line. Martin Scorsese is the director of this film. I would say he is one of the most clever directors I know in a sense that he can give the audience little hints as to where the film is going and gives it an interesting twist to end of which those hints contribute to when you notice it.

Shutter Island is a definite must see. This would be recommended to those lovers of suspense thrillers and anyone who is willing to try to watch a different genre of films. The best part about this wonderfully freaky film is that it makes you question your own sanity and wonder if you are only seeing what you want to see. Leaving you to think; ‘Am I an insane criminal living in a dream world?’