Shutter Island

[snwrist]

My god--phenomenal film. DiCaprio, Ruffalo and Kingsley turned in brilliant, complex performances. This film just ropes you in and gut-punches you in the end. Completely bleak, disturbing and uncompromising...

...and the film is bound to get mixed reactions. People will complain that it's too slow and plodding and will mentally check out. Then get left behind by the film--but if you're an intelligent filmgoer, don't miss it. The psychological complexity is fascinating.

Anyone else catch this tonight?

[Kevan]

Re: Shutter Island

My god--phenomenal film. DiCaprio, Ruffalo and Kingsley turned in brilliant, complex performances. This film just ropes you in and gut-punches you in the end. Completely bleak, disturbing and uncompromising...

...and the film is bound to get mixed reactions. People will complain that it's too slow and plodding and will mentally check out. Then get left behind by the film--but if you're an intelligent filmgoer, don't miss it. The psychological complexity is fascinating.

Anyone else catch this tonight?

Sounds good.. Looking forward to this!!

[gravitas]

Re: Shutter Island

Sounds good.. Looking forward to this!!

Me too. Going early tomorrow. I quit going to the movies at night. Too many talkers. I wasn't exactly enthused by the Shutter trailer, but I've just read great stuff about the film, so now I'm excited.

[HLTassin]

Re: Shutter Island

snwrist, did you read the book? I'm curious how it compared ?

[LIMAMA]

Re: Shutter Island

What about my lovely Ted Levine in an uncredited cameo?

I hated the sp. Okay, maybe hate is too strong. I really disliked it.

[snwrist]

Re: Shutter Island

No, I didn't read the book--I did read the script back in November and meant to read the book. Just got caught up in other things--but I'll def. have to give it a go.

If you didn't like the script, Limama, you may not like the film. They are very much the same--though you could probably just enjoy the great acting. Ted Levine was great! Very small role, but sufficiently devious. He has one great line to Leo as he hops out of his car--you'd know the one. Whenever I see Levine, I don't think Buffalo Bill...oddly, I think of the Trucker in Joy Ride. Love that movie!

[Sinnycal]

Re: Shutter Island

If you didn't like the script, Limama, you may not like the film. They are very much the same--though you could probably just enjoy the great acting. Ted Levine was great! Very small role, but sufficiently devious. He has one great line to Leo as he hops out of his car--you'd know the one. Whenever I see Levine, I don't think Buffalo Bill...oddly, I think of the Trucker in Joy Ride. Love that movie!

I don't know if that's necessarily true. Scorsese is one of those directors who really demonstrates the difference a good director can make. With almost anyone else at the helm, this could've easily been a bit of unremarkable genre fare.

[roscoegino]

Re: Shutter Island

One reviewer from the nydailynews called it "pulp fluff".

Is it really that good?

[snwrist]

Re: Shutter Island

That's a good point, sinnycal. Scorsese really ropes you in with the atmospherics and visuals. The score for the film is very effective in building tension and ominous dread.

You know, everybody's got an opinion, but to call this film pulp fluff...let's just say the guy seems to be missing something. I know it's gotten some mixed reviews thus far--but, for my money, it's absolutely brilliant. I think you need to have a certain mindset/film taste to really enjoy this. It's unremittingly dark--once the ending is revealed, the whole film takes on an entirely different meaning/dimension....

SPOILERS BELOW....







When it's revealed that DiCaprio has, in fact, been a patient at the asylum for two years and is completely insane, some things come into light. You can really look at the film as the slow, long descent into insanity/hell of a tortured mind. It's, more or less, just about a guy losing his mind in many ways. And I think it's handled absolutely brilliantly. A real gut-wrenching experience that won't appeal to everyone, for sure.

[-XL-]

Re: Shutter Island

A masterpiece. Gripping, disturbing, and devastating in equal parts. I was pretty sure I knew the plot going in, and thought I had most of it figured out ten minutes in, but it did a great job of keeping me guessing and I was completely captivated. It's been a long time since I've sat through the credits of a film but this one I had to let soak in.

All in all, it's film folks will still be watching in the next century.

[Ire]

Re: Shutter Island

Compelling, but not thrilling, haunting, but not scary. I'd probably recommend it to staunch Scorsese fans because its flaws are all Scorsese's especially since there is no way in hell, in my mind, at least, in my mind, that this should be a 2:20 movie. Scorsese plumbing the depths of a character's personal hell is like a genius chocolatier with a golden ticket to run Willy Wonka's chocolate factory for a day or in this case an 1/8 of a day. And he doesn't let up as much as over-shares in the hallucinatory experiences and ambience and completely saturates the experience. Marty's passion for the hell-fires of the soul verge on burning the bridge behind and in front of the audience. I was expecting a disclaimer "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."

Beautifully shot by Richardson. DiCaprio exudes tortured soul. It's his and Marty's movie. I haven't read the book or script, but I'm guessing it was an adept attempt to distill the story. The last lines are brilliant and bring home the movie.

[LIMAMA]

Re: Shutter Island

Yah, my problem was that I figured out the "twist" very early on...and once I did, I lost interest.

Oh Ted Levine my beating heart be still. TL is the only man in the world that would make Limama leave Lipapa in the dust....

[gravitas]

Re: Shutter Island

I liked it. Had it figured early but I didn't mind. I was in to it. Looking forward to reading the script.

[Ire]

Re: Shutter Island

Ted Levine is great. For some reason his monologue made me think of Sterling Hayden's monologue in the beginning of Dr. Strangelove.

Just to clarify I believe I'm a Scorsese fan from Mean Streets to Raging Bull to the Departed. I would pay to watch a car insurance commercial if he filmed it. If I were Richard Roeper I'd give it a thumbs up. Just edit it down Marty, fer chrissakes!

[Juno Styles]

Re: Shutter Island

i want to check this out. sounds like it was predictable though?