Shutter Island (2010)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese | 138 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley, Elias Koteas, Patricia Clarkson

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio together form one of the most successful director/actor duos of the past decade. After ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘The Aviator’ and multiple Oscar winner ‘The Departed’, this is DiCaprio’s fourth work in the service of the craftsman, and he seems well on his way to follow in the footsteps of that filmmaker as the muse of that filmmaker. predecessor De Niro. The latter retains the title of most successful team in modern cinema history with a total of eight collaborations – including ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘GoodFellas’ – although it has not produced much of significance since his last film with the director. (‘Casino’ – 1995). The double role that Scorsese plays in the careers of both actors is once again confirmed. Especially since the choice for DiCaprio now produces another masterpiece.

In the psychological thriller ‘Shutter Island’, we follow US Marshall Teddy Daniels, who is sent to the titular island with his new partner Chuck (a role tailor-made for Mark Ruffalo) to investigate a mysterious disappearance. Shutter Island, geographically and logistically cut off from the outside world except for a modest harbor, is home to a mental institution for mentally ill criminals (or simply ‘patients’, as staff should call them), who receive experimental therapy in its various wards. . The atmosphere on the island is hostile and the personnel assigned to assist the marshalls in their investigations seem to have their own agendas. It soon becomes clear that the chief of medical staff, Dr. Cowley (a confusingly calm Ben Kingsley), pulling the strings here, but above all that there is more to it. That much is made clear by the strict security of the institution and especially the structure of the island with its sheer cliffs and violent waters: it is impossible to escape on your own here. Then, when a fierce hurricane makes the location even more oppressive, the story develops through a series of quick twists and the case of the missing woman fades into the background, giving way to a wider investigation and a mix of intriguing and especially scary subjects. Questionable experimental treatments, mental repression of mental patients, potential government conspiracies, and even hints of supernatural phenomena, to name a few. Moreover, nothing is what it seems and as a viewer you also find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, dream and reality.

Religion as a theme can always be found in Scorsese’s work, albeit usually in the background. So asks Dr. Naehring (a pleasantly bleak contribution from a Scorsese masterfully introduced Max von Sydow) to Teddy whether he believes in God and the prison warden (Ted Levine) uses a number of religious metaphors and similes to explain the violence of both human nature and the storm just blown over. to describe. While Teddy and Chuck take shelter from the worst phase of that same storm, they also end up in an abandoned church in a remote corner of the island. In any other story you can ask yourself if that is significant, in a Scorsese film the question becomes: is it not significant? A bigger theme in addition, which always plays a determining role in the character development of the main character, is guilt. This has been a strong factor in Scorsese’s films since the 1970s, and this is evident in his projects with DiCaprio as well. Think, for example, of ‘The Departed’, in which his Billy Costigan is torn apart by the double life he leads, because of the criminal steps he has to take to be credible in his undercover role. In ‘Shutter Island’, the chronic binge drinking and demons of a traumatic wartime past are the protagonist’s shoulders. A sense of guilt over the death of his wife (Michelle Williams) also plays a role, as he blames himself for that tragic accident and cannot let it rest. One of the reasons that he is so committed to the ongoing investigation, as it turns out later. The restlessness that DiCaprio gives to his Teddy, just like Billy Costigan in heavily Bostonian speaking Teddy from the ferry on the way to the island, is one of the many aspects that pull you into the story, because you constantly experience that swell with him. There is also more going on here. The script may be an adaptation of a book by Dennis Lehane, who previously provided the stories for ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Gone Baby Gone’, this thematic approach makes it such a film that is particularly characteristic of Scorsese. The cinematographic aspects are also characteristic of the acclaimed director, who here again collaborates with Robert Richardson (after ‘The Aviator’, among others). For example, the use of color gives the whole a pleasant fifties impression, which reinforces the feeling of the zeitgeist and you can easily imagine yourself in a troubled world, in which the Cold War occupies the collective ideas and developments of radical psychiatric treatments appeal to the imagination. . He succeeds better than anyone in actually placing the film in the time in which it takes place. His diverse methods of letting the camera tell the story at the same time provide that oppressive feeling, which fits seamlessly into the entanglements of the plot. Dreams, flashbacks and hallucinations of the main character are interspersed with reality almost imperceptibly, so that you become physically and mentally involved in Teddy’s experiences. The sharp editing and fast, smooth transitions (by three-time Oscar winner and multiple Scorsese partner Thelma Schoonmaker) ensure that you remain glued to the screen and closely follow the developments. It adds to the claustrophobic tension that Scorsese projects, which unerringly touches on the oppressive atmosphere and sinister theme of a film like ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, about the ethics and moral values ​​of psychiatry and its far-reaching possibilities. Where does the medical responsibility end in the treatment of (criminal) insane people, and where does a repressive influencing of the body and an oppressive processing of the mind begin, as both films denounce. The emphasis here is also on the ominous of this form of therapy, not on the curative. Because no matter how far the medical world is, the human psyche cannot (yet) be brought under control.

‘Shutter Island’ is an artistic and extraordinarily perceptive mystery, which has you searching for a solution from start to finish and meets all requirements in terms of intelligent thriller. A complicated and above all overwhelming story, a strong and intense cast and a fantastic performance, as we have come to expect from the team that Scorsese and Schoonmaker have formed since ‘I Call First’ (1967). No detail is overlooked in order to film the story as expressively as possible, right down to the use of color, suggestive camera work and terrifying soundtrack. Spoiled as we are by the work of the grandmaster, expectations are high. ‘Shutter Island’ releases them one by one, and then some.