The movie toys with these ideas. It, however, winds up being more wrapped up in its own paranoid maze of a plot. That may sound negative, but I don't necessarily mean it that way. I frequently enjoy convoluted, maze-like plots (I believe I've already made it clear in this blog that I love Lost). I love to unravel flaky layers of mystery and try and race the movie to its chewy, delicious, truth filled center. I love when the truth that's in there surprises me, and completely redefines the reality I just watched.
Here comes the negativity. It doesn't. The movie builds itself around a surprise ending that I was waiting for for literally the entire movie (in the first scene, my roommate and I paused the DVD and correctly predicted the ending to each other).
Ultimately, the problem is this: In a movie built around a twist ending, the filmmaker has to mold the story to two realities, the real one, and the one the audience is meant to think they're watching. Incorrect expectations have to be set early on, and everything must serve as proof of both realities. As long as the lie is all you know, it seems perfectly straightforward, but once you know the truth, the meaning of every scene changes. Shutter Island doesn't effectively set up those initial expectations.
From the beginning, the world seems strange and mysterious. The movie seems like it will have a twist ending. From there, it isn't a big intuitive leap to what that twist will be. Really, the film is a mood piece. And the mood is crafted tremendously; Martin Scorsese is good at that. But the mood gives everything away.
The cast is excellent. It's hard to go wrong with Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, and Max Von Sydow, and they all turn in good performances. Mark Ruffalo is fine, but the role requires little enough of him that it's hard to comment very strongly on the performance.
The film's real triumph is in the photography and the art direction, both of which are great. They give the proceedings a dark, surreal, nightmarish feel. And Scorsese throws in very subtle details that enhance it. Things you'll miss if you're not paying strict attention. There is an interesting moment with a glass of water that I had to rewind and watch again to make sure i had seen it correctly.
All in all, the film, if not great, was enjoyable. Had another director made it, I'd have quite liked it. But I expect so much better from Scorsese.
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