Shutter Island

[Mac H.]

Re: Shutter Island

I mean, who's to say Leo wouldn't have fallen off the rocks and drowned moments after they parted? Did they pad the area on the off-chance he slipped?

After the big reveal I assumed that most of this stuff had been amplified by his imagination.

So Leo saw himself heroically hanging off a cliff over a raging surf - but in reality he was just wandering around a fairly banal island - perhaps danging a foot or so above the water.

...but the storm and it's after effects were still needed to allow Leo to get to Building C.

But Building C didn't matter. Whatever part of the island Leo obsessed about would have worked the same. And the storm wasn't required to get to Building C - it was just an excuse to let their guard down.

And was there even a big storm? Sure - perhaps there was a minor one, but remember this is a crazy guy who blows everything out of proportion in his mind. So a boring building becomes a massive fortress to be overcome. A fairly typical tropical storm that they probably have every season becomes a massive destroying force.

Yeah - I found the ending a bit disappointing (and obvious) but I think it recovered a bit with the question of whether he would want to continue under his delusion or not.

Mac

[Optimus]

Re: Shutter Island

And, as Mac suggested, the storm very well could have been an invention of his mind. During his delusion, it's raining the entire time. In his first vision/dream of his wife, it's raining ash. In his flashback to finding the Nazi nearly dead on the floor, it's raining papers.

Could be some thematic device of his subconscious. I dunno, though. I missed a few scenes because my ex gf was bitching about something stupid during the movie, so I could've missed some important explanation somewhere.

[Condor]

Re: Shutter Island

Loved it. Best movie I've seen so far this year.

[Juno Styles]

Re: Shutter Island

thought the movie was def interesting, however like a lot of people pointed out there were a good amount of things that seemed like a "stretch" but even with that i thought it was okay. i wasnt blown away, but i wouldnt call it weak.

even from the trailer i guessed what the big twist would be, but my interest was "but marty is directing this...maybe that's not the twist and there's something more to it" and there was....but too many unanswered questions for me to remember. i got it....but still was left confused

[Jeff_Shurtleff]

Re: Shutter Island

Too drunk to give a full review but here is my opinion in a nutshell ("How did I get in this nutshell? What kind of nut goes in a shell this big?)

I thought it was too slow. Too many scenes didn't move the story forward. It could have been 45 minutes shorter.

Plus, the background music in the first part of the movie was way too loud and obtrusive.

Jeff Shurtleff

[Richmond Weems]

Re: Shutter Island

Plus, the background music in the first part of the movie was way too loud and obtrusive.

I agree the movie was too long, but I thought the music was a nice touch. From the opening scene, with the boat appearing out of the fog and the music almost deafening (and an apt metaphor for Leo's state of mind), I thought Scorcese was telling us that it was going to be almost like one of those B-pictures from the '50s.

HH

[Wordsmithteer]

Re: Shutter Island

SPOILERS

Saw this last night and great atmosphere and good performance. Story wise left me wanting. I knew something was up with all those strange things Leo's character was seeing giving away the I'm a mental patient twist.

I wonder if this would have worked better if they had played it straight with Leo's character not seeing any strange things. What if the missing woman turned out to be his dead wife? So when he finds the missing woman he is confronted with his past and returns to sanity. That would have given him a goal throughout the movie.

I agree the ending with that line - monster vs good man - makes it pretty clear Leo's character chooses to be lobotomized because he doesn't want to remember his dead children or the knowledge he killed his wife. And it's that final line and image of the lighthouse that save this movie. Without that I would have been hugely disappointed.

Very few movies can hold the attention of a movie goer for more than 2 hours and this was not one of them. This movie would have been better if it had been shorter.

[ViningWolff]

Re: Shutter Island

Looked good, but sadly my wife and I had the twist figured out way early. The fact it was in his mind allowed for all the plot contrivances to work.

Agree is should have been shorter. My wife found the music distracting and overdone. ( then again she a music major)

[NikeeGoddess]

Re: Shutter Island

it took a while but i just checked this flicker out.
i'm not reading 10 pages of comments lol!

but the structure reminded me of fight club where we find out in the 3rd act twist that the protag is a mental case. i was too happy about that. i really wanted there to be a nazi war criminal doing experiments.

and i couldn't see how that doctor could live in the caves for so long. what was she eating? rats! that was the true turning point for me.

nevertheless, it was interesting to watch.

[Telly]

Re: Shutter Island

spoilers, i guess:

I was so bummed. I knew the twist when he walked out of the bathroom and spoke with his new partner on the boat. I even knew his partner was his doctor the moment the one dude mentioned a doctor had left on vacation. Lame.

All downhill from there.

[Juno Styles]

Re: Shutter Island

@ telly what made you think that was the doctor they were referring to though? just a lucky guess? or the fact that you already assumed what was going to happen during the first five minutes?

i guessed how it was gonna end base don the trailers but i didnt guess the partner was his doctor. i thought that was pretty slick if they woulda pulled it off without the plot holes in that scenario.

[MontanaHans]

Re: Shutter Island

This movie is unwatchable on second viewing. It's like a comedy. You're like, **SPOILERS** THEY'RE ALL ACTING LEO! DON'T BELIEVE IT! It's really funny.

[Juno Styles]

Re: Shutter Island

and i couldn't see how that doctor could live in the caves for so long. what was she eating? rats! that was the true turning point for me.

why did they just leave that open? were we to believe that person was not real and part of his imagination? it was never explained or made clear...or maybe that was the point, to try and leave it open for interpretation?

[Telly]

Re: Shutter Island

@ telly what made you think that was the doctor they were referring to though?

I think it was the camera work, not sure. Once he mentioned the doctor was on vacation they went to his partner for a reaction shot and for me, it was on the nose and I got lucky I guess. But I knew right away and it ruined the rest of the film for me. I even thought it was some sort of experiment to help him before they got off the boat. Seriously, I was way too locked on early in this one for it to be enjoyable for me.

I spent the rest of the film thinking, if I'm right about all of this, it's going to be lame. And it was.

[Optimus]

Re: Shutter Island

and i couldn't see how that doctor could live in the caves for so long. what was she eating? rats! that was the true turning point for me.

The doctor wasn't real. She was part of his delusion.