Shutter Island
Dir: Martin Scorsese
2010
**
Martin Scorsese's adaption of Dennis LeHane's Shutter Island seems to have split people right down the middle. Personally, I didn't like it very much and for various different reasons. Firstly, I didn't think the story was particularly clever. It seems to be a mix of various different stories and when adapted into film, about 10 other films popped into my head, taking away any originality it might of had. I remember at school when we were asked to write a story during what was known as 'Creative writing' lessons, if you didn't know how to end it (generally because a break time was fast approaching) you would always finish with '..and they woke up, and it was all a dream'. Did I go to the same school as Dennis LeHane? Secondly, I predicted the ending after about 30 minutes. I saw it come a mile off. I don't seem to be the only one either, surely a good thriller with a twist should have a rewarding ending? Thirdly, the blue-screen special effects were lousy, I did like the dream sequences and some of the visuals, this is where the fantasy scenes worked well, it's just the the simple stuff that was supposed to be real, like simple backgrounds for example, looked terrible. Fourthly, the editing is appalling. Hard to believe but the great Thelma Schoonmaker messed up big time here in my opinion. One second someone has a cigarette in their mouths, the next it's gone, and then a second later, it's back again. There is a scene where the two U.S. marshals are interviewing a patient, they interview a man who is highly sexed. We see Leonardo Di Caprio launch forward to slam his hand on the table from behind his back and then all over again from behind the patients back. This isn't clever cinematography, this is terrible editing plain and simple. Scorsese is better than this. There is another scene where they interview a woman who writes the word RUN in Leonardo DiCaprio's note pad. She then drinks a glass of water but if you look closely there is no glass. Mistake? Symbolic? or just plain shambolic? I don't believe for one minute it was part of the story, I think the continuity guy was on an extended lunch break. I also hated the soundtrack, it didn't seem to fit the style of film and I found it quite annoying. Many say Scorsese can do know wrong, this is only the second time where I've had to disagree.