Another Mass Movie from Marty

Shutter Island
Dir: Martin Scorsese, 2010

Atmospheric, nice-try letdown.

Federal marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) set off to Shutter Island, off the coast of Massachussetts, to investigate the disappearance of a female patient who somehow vanished from her room in Ashecliffe (psychiatric) Hospital. But those in charge are not quite cooperative, which makes Daniels think they might be more keen on keeping certain sinister truths hidden than on finding the missing woman. Along with chasing ghosts and potential cover-ups, Daniels must also deal with demons and scars from his own past, which include a traumatic tour in World War II and a dead wife.

I relish a gripping thriller, piecing a puzzle, unraveling a good yarn. What I don't love is figuring out the twist in the first three minutes, only to spend the next 135 hoping I'm wrong and growing increasingly more certain and annoyed that I'm not. And that's exactly what happened here. In case you're wondering, I'm not great at guessing every plot point five frames before it happens or figuring out the ending of a movie well before anyone else. The fact that I did see through to the core of this movie was not my fault, especially since I made little effort to do more than go along for the ride.

The ride itself? Sometimes suspenseful, but sometimes over-the-top with ridiculous crashing music that screams "Are you on the edge of your seat??? Because you should be!!!" even moreso than the ominous stormy weather or the And There Were None-style trope of having the protagonist stuck on an inhospitable island with no way off (all of which, by the way, also appear in the slasher flick I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.) These things did more to kill my suspension of disbelief than the big head of the guy sitting in front of me. I guess the point is that there is little subtlety in this movie and some degree of subtlety is necessary to any good mystery.

I will give the movie this: it has some really beautiful shots. Gray skies and choppy waters never looked so good and hurricane battered woods gain a lush and lively appeal. The acting and directing are solid, so I'm thinking this one misses mostly because of the transparent and predictable story.