Shutter Island (2010)

  I was really expecting more from this movie.  Or at least something I haven't seen a bunch of times already.  Last year, it seemed like this movie was on the tip of everyone's tongue but I'm not really sure way.  Maybe because DiCaprio was on fire that year?  Maybe because it's a Scorsese movie?  I don't know.

I've mentioned previously that the nature of reality is something that has always fascinated me.  Mental illness dovetails into that nicely since it begs the question of how do you know if something is real?  Your brain controls everything you see, hear, and understand.  If that goes on the fritz, would you know?  How would you deal with it?  I don't think any movie has presented this so well as The Matrix did back in 1999.  This one is aiming for that echelon of movies like Donnie Darko, Inception, and even One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest but winds up more like SuckerPunch than anything else.

Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a U.S. Marshal sent to investigate the disappearance of a woman from her locked cell in the Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane on Shutter Island.  Rachel Solondo (Emily Mortimer) drowned her three children in the lake behind her home, was sentenced to Ashcliffe, and then disappeared.  Teddy and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) get nothing but lies from the staff, led by Doctor Cawley (Ben Kingsley).  Teddy also has a hidden agenda of trying to find the arsonist (Elias Koteas) who killed his wife (Michelle Williams).  Once at the facility, he begins having visions and flashbacks to his worst memories.  The investigation slowly spins away from him as he devolves into a mental web of repressed issues.

I do think that Jackie Earle Haley is particularly good, especially since he only has about 10 seconds of screen time.  I really hope he gets more roles.  Michelle Williams also did a stand-out job as the dead wife.  Honestly, they're not enough to get me to ever watch this movie again.  It's a decent rental or, if you want, catch it on cable but don't feel bad if you missed it.