Shutter Island Theory
A Shutter of Surprise
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up in 2006 to bring the world the organized crime masterpiece, The Departed. The film was a huge success and swept the major awards at the Oscars that year, bring home such prizes as best picture and best director. The win cemented Scorsese as the greatest living filmmaker and he finally got the respect he deserves from the Academy. DiCaprio is one of the best actors of his generation. Titanic, The Aviator, and The Departed areall the evidence needed to securely place him in the upper pantheon of great actors. Expecting a quality movie from either of these two artist is like expecting to get wet by jumping in a pool. When word first broke that the two would be teaming up yet again in Shutter Island, the expectations were through the roof. The only question left was whether Shutter Island could fulfill them. Scorsese sets the film up for success by choosing great sorce material. Shutter Island is based off the novel of the same name written by Dennis Lehane and provided a great canvas for Scorsese and DiCaprio to paint on. Shutter Island tells the story of U.S. Marshall “Teddy” Daniels as he investigates the disappearance of a patient of Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane. The island is a hellish place 11 miles from shore where dangerous maniacs are subjected to unique treatments by the questionable and very creepy, Dr. Cawley. The patient, Rachel Solando, has been institutionalized in the hospital for drowning her three children in the lake behind their house. There are almost no clues to be found when Teddy and his partner Chuck arrive on the scene, and from the moment the two Marshalls step off the ferry they get the feeling that every thing is not as it seems on the mysterious island. Teddy begins to notice that everyone seems to be hiding something and are obviously lying. The patient seems to have just vanished, evaporated through her cell walls without a
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up in 2006 to bring the world the organized crime masterpiece, The Departed. The film was a huge success and swept the major awards at the Oscars that year, bring home such prizes as best picture and best director. The win cemented Scorsese as the greatest living filmmaker and he finally got the respect he deserves from the Academy. DiCaprio is one of the best actors of his generation. Titanic, The Aviator, and The Departed areall the evidence needed to securely place him in the upper pantheon of great actors. Expecting a quality movie from either of these two artist is like expecting to get wet by jumping in a pool. When word first broke that the two would be teaming up yet again in Shutter Island, the expectations were through the roof. The only question left was whether Shutter Island could fulfill them. Scorsese sets the film up for success by choosing great sorce material. Shutter Island is based off the novel of the same name written by Dennis Lehane and provided a great canvas for Scorsese and DiCaprio to paint on. Shutter Island tells the story of U.S. Marshall “Teddy” Daniels as he investigates the disappearance of a patient of Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane. The island is a hellish place 11 miles from shore where dangerous maniacs are subjected to unique treatments by the questionable and very creepy, Dr. Cawley. The patient, Rachel Solando, has been institutionalized in the hospital for drowning her three children in the lake behind their house. There are almost no clues to be found when Teddy and his partner Chuck arrive on the scene, and from the moment the two Marshalls step off the ferry they get the feeling that every thing is not as it seems on the mysterious island. Teddy begins to notice that everyone seems to be hiding something and are obviously lying. The patient seems to have just vanished, evaporated through her cell walls without a
Cited: Danesco, B. "How To Write a Film Review: Movie Ratings and Reviews." How To Write a Film Review: Movie Ratings and Reviews. How To Do Things, 2009. Web. The Departed. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Warner Bros., 2006. Film. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2007. Print. Shutter Island. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio. Paramount Pictures, 2010. Film.