Shutter Island

The Plot

Drama in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Review (Spoilers)

Shutter Island stars Leo who always delivers and has him teamed with Scorsese you always expect some magic.

As the story begins to unravel you already have a feeling as where the movie is going. It is almost a cross between Crowe's A Beautiful Mind and dare I say Basic Instinct 2.

The story would suggest that Leo in dealing with the agony of killing his wife who had killed his children, seems to live in a world of denial, creating another world where he is a police officer. The Asylum allowed Leo to play out this fantasy as it showed he was the missing patient he was really looking for, and if this last attempt to salvage his reality failed, it would be a case of cleansing his mind.

The angst and emotions that Leo shows demonstrates why he is such a commanding figure in Hollywood today. There is always a mysterious aura about him, which leads beautifully in this movie.

The film ends with a cliff hanger with the quote where Leo asks the question Whether it is better to live as a Monster or Die a good Man? As he shows sanity at the end but the movie ends with the viewer asking themselves had Leo accepted his reality where he had killed his wife, but still chose to be taken away in the end? Had he still deluded himself and went ahead anyway? Or, just maybe, had the Island won...? Was Leo never insane, and this whole saga staged from the beginning as Leo had chosen this case and therefore all characters involved because of the Island wanted him to end up there?

Great Movie, some what predictable outcome, but I would still recommend you watch this movie.

4/5 Stars from Me