Is it worth $10? Yes

When Martin Scorsese is on, his movies are so awesome we can’t wait to see them again. “Shutter Island” leaves us wanting to see it again, but for different reasons.

The film is a psychological thriller, which is new territory for the master director. He handles the subject matter well, but not perfectly; the eerie tone and gloomy atmosphere are more impressive than the complex story, which will leave some scratching their heads.

The year is 1954, and off the coast of Boston is Shutter Island. The only livable area on the island is a hospital for the criminally insane, and that’s where Federal Marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) go to investigate the disappearance of Rachel (Emily Mortimer), an inmate who murdered her three children. Music Supervisor Robbie Robertson’s haunting score as Teddy and Chuck drive from the ferry to the hospital creates an impressive amount of tension while little actually happens.

With a brutal storm on the horizon, Teddy and Chuck meet Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), who runs the asylum, but they soon realize neither he nor his colleague, Dr. Naehring (Max Von Sydow), are interested in helping. Worse, Teddy keeps getting headaches and has visions of his ex-wife (Michelle Williams), who died in a fire.

As Scorsese gradually unfolds layer after layer of the story, which is based on a Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”) novel and was adapted by Laeta Kalogridis, it’s clear that this is no ordinary investigation. It’s good that we’re taken places we don’t anticipate, and Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker pace the film to allow each revelation to sink in before surprising us with a new twist. However, Teddy’s Holocaust flashbacks add unnecessary weight to the story, and other slow moments, such as the scene in which Teddy and Chuck interview patients in the cafeteria, grind the movie to a halt.

A word on DiCaprio. He is one of the finest actors working today, and his consistently solid choices (his next film, “Inception,” is directed by Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”) and is set for release July 2010) make him an actor with integrity and immense talent. “Shutter Island” is his fourth movie with Scorsese, and his performance here is expectedly superb and convincing.

Some will be surprised to see Scorsese in this genre, but it’s interesting to note that the most common theme in all his movies – that of a man who willingly puts himself into a situation he can’t get out of – remains prominent in “Shutter Island.” Even though the film doesn’t rank among Scorsese’s greats (“Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “The Departed”), it is an interesting addition to an already substantial body of work.

Did you know?
During production, Scorsese screened classic films that echoed the themes found in “Shutter Island.” One such film was “Titicut Follies,” Frederick Wiseman’s controversial 1967 documentary about the treatment of inmates at a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane in the 1950s and ‘60s.

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