Shutter Island - Sanely Thrilling  
| I love it when Scorsese gets all moody and atmospheric tackling a genre film. In fact, I enjoy this more than his gritty films. He can be very stylish and a great story teller when he wants to. And that's what Shutter Island is, a fun, satisfying pulply story.
When I first saw The Sixth Sense, a film there shares little to nothing in common with Shutter Island, I was disappointed because I saw the "twist" at the very beginning and didn't feel the film worked without that surprise. I confess I saw the "twist" in Shutter Island coming in the first few moments but unlike with Sense I actually enjoyed watching how Scorsese played cat and mouse with the audience, building plausible alternatives yet sticking true to his underlying narrative. Island works well if you are in on it or not. It's not too confusing to confound and not to simplistic to bore. It doesn't pull a trick. Each scene leads closer to the truth. Very appropriate for this particular story, this particular "twist". It's not a gimmick but quite a satisfying and integral part of the tale.
Shutter Island is gloriously filmed like a film of the era it is set in, the 50s. From the wonderful score to Scorsese's framing, the film captures a mood, a tone, possibly just our understandings of that era, but it remains a very authentic feeling. There is a classicness to the feel of the film that invokes what we think of from black and white thrillers.
But it also touches on some painful ideas that certainly aren't glossed over. The audience is in for some heavy emotional stuff here. None of this feels exploited. Instead it adds to the power of the film. In fact, the "twist" really depends on quite an emotional resonance. Scorsese delivers this weight, as do the fine cast. Leonardo continues to be one of the finest of his generation. His work here sells the thing and makes it all work.
Shutter Island is just the right balance of popcorn, drama and slight of hand. Scorsese balances them all well and delivers a great film.
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