{"id":293,"date":"2010-03-15T10:06:04","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T17:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/?p=293"},"modified":"2020-10-09T15:08:49","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T22:08:49","slug":"shutter-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/shutter-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Shutter Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some movies aren\u2019t fun to watch, but still have value at an intellectual or artistic level. Some are a blast to sit through, but the overall experience is much more entertaining than the mediocre sum of it\u2019s parts. But watching a film that does neither doesn\u2019t make for a very rewarding or satisfying experience. Such is the case with Martin Scorsese\u2019s latest, Shutter Island. A psychological thriller that isn\u2019t all that thrilling, regardless of all the detail put into each of it\u2019s many parts.<\/p>\n

The film is the latest collaboration between Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. It follows the story of Federal Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), as he and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) attempt to unravel a mystery surrounding the disappearance of an inmate on Shutter Island, an isolated institution for the criminally insane. As Teddy and Chuck navigate the prison grounds and interview both staff and inmates, it becomes evident that Teddy\u2019s screws are slowly coming loose. Visions of past traumas from his time as a soldier in WWII and of his late wife Dolores (Michelle Williams) haunt him throughout the investigation.<\/p>\n

As these hallucinations build, so does the dramatic tension between Teddy and his surroundings. Sinister vibes are everywhere, from partner Chuck, to the prisons head doctor, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), to the island itself. What is real? What\u2019s in Teddy\u2019s head? Who has good intentions? Who\u2019s just plain crazy?<\/p>\n

In lesser hands, these questions would be too obviously asked or answered. Scorsese however, brings his experienced eye to every scene. No glare or smirk is void of some disguised intent. One of the most notable examples is early on in the film. Teddy is introduced to one of Dr. Cawley\u2019s associates (Max von Sydow) sitting in a menacing wingback chair beside a roaring fire. The combination of sharp wordplay between Teddy and the other Dr., the distorted camera levels Scorsese uses for each characters exchange, and Sydow\u2019s eerie antagonism vs. DiCaprio\u2019s quick fuse, produce a very well orchestrated scene.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because of this skill and thoughtfulness that is put into each piece of the film that makes it difficult to fault any one area entirely. The script is a competent adaptation (of a Dennis Lehane novel), the performances are well balanced, and the direction isn\u2019t without purpose. But unlike so many of Scorsese\u2019s other films, this one leaves you somewhat empty. It has twists that don\u2019t intrigue, complex characters that you\u2019re not invested in, and an environment that is at once both ominous and somewhat dull. I appreciated the care put into the movie, but didn\u2019t really care about where it was going. It was like watching a tract home be built out of imported marble.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the most entertaining movies are those that use the art of film-making to an unmistakable affect on an audience. A director presents their intent, and the audience is impacted by it, for better or worse. Shutter Island is in an odd category. It\u2019s 138 minutes of meticulous intent, and we\u2019re left feeling neither better nor worse for sitting through it.<\/p>\n

\"3_star_rating\"<\/a>-Gabe Garagliano<\/p>\n

DiscSox Team Member<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some movies aren\u2019t fun to watch, but still have value at an intellectual or artistic level. Some are a blast to sit through, but the overall experience is much more entertaining than the mediocre sum of it\u2019s parts. But watching a film that does neither doesn\u2019t make for a very rewarding or satisfying experience. Such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmdesign.com\/media-storage-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}