It's not often that I get to see a film in the theater anymore (son, wife, house, work, hobbies, etc.) so if I am going to do so, it usually has to be a fairly relevant one--either one by a good director/writer or one that has gotten a high amount of buzz for one legitimate reason or another--Sorry, but Avatar doesn't cut it...
So it was that when I began seeing previews for Shutter Island, almost a year ago, I said to myself that if I had a chance I would want to see this Scorsese/DiCaprio film in a real theater. I have enjoyed a number of this director's/actor's combinations in the recent past from the great Departed to the overlooked The Aviator.
This however, not nearly up to either man's standards.
Shutter Island is about 1/2 hour too long, its music (all non-original, just plucked from various classical sources) overbearing and its story silly.
Coming in to all current "suspense" type films the modern audience has come to expect, no, demand, a "twist" at the end. Which is a shame as this film could have been a solid, smart, straightforward thriller containing some great subject matter but instead is a slightly better crafted M. Night Shamalamadingdong style wannabe. Harsh, I know, but oh, so, true. The film's owners did a magnificent job of postponing this film from last fall when its competition would have been much greater and now faces such competition for eyes as Cop Out and The Crazies--no wonder it keeps bringing in the money, its not like there are any other options right now!
If you haven't figured out the twist and left the theater 1/2 way into the film you will leave Shutter Island like all those viewers at the show I attended did, in silence, wondering how a master of film had fallen so far, so fast...I just hope the money Scorsese makes on this film enriches his bank account enough to go back out on a limb and make something worthwhile again...
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