Shutter Island (2010)

“Shutter Island” is a screen version of a novel Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (2003). The psychological thriller was released in 2010, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley. It is the first thriller by Scorsese, so no one was expecting the movie to be so intense, twisted and tense, and keep the attention of the viewers until the very last scene. The “Shutter Island” leaves you with a feeling that your brain was turned inside out. The movie itself is very complicated. It is both hard to watch and hard to understand. There are some moments and things that the mind couldn’t simply explain or understand. At this moment your senses come into play. The sensual power of the movie is unbelievable. It opens new horizons in cinematography and creates an extreme realism that has never been known before.

“Shutter Island” tells us a story about federal Marshall Teddy Daniels and his partner, who travel to an island located somewhere near Boston in 1954. This island was used as a fort during times of the Civil War, but later it became a psychiatric hospital named Ashecliffe. It is a home for the most dangerous criminals and psychos from all over the country. Teddy and his partner are out to investigate a mysterious disappearance of an extremely dangerous patient named Rachel Solando who killed three of her children. The hospital is surrounded by an electrical fence, and the prisoners are under control all the time, which leaves them with no possible way to escape. Our heroes are here to find the missing patient while revealing some of the scariest secrets of the dark island. But whether the island will let the uninvited guests get away with all that secrets so easily is the question…

The features of the movie that were the most appealing to my particular cinematic experience, and stood out the most and contributed to the mood and the tone, were the music and colors. From the first scene, we feel drowning in dark tones that create the eerie and dangerous atmosphere. We are affected by the dark-grey-blue palette until the very last moment, that does not let us relax and get rid of that tension and confusion. It contributes to the complexity of the plot, by keeping the viewer in a state of suspense throughout the whole movie. The dark tones of the colors chosen by Scorsese, accompanied by the disturbing sound effects, create a feeling of presence inside the scene, making the viewer experience the same type of emotions as the main character, such as fear, hopelessness, and distrust.

It’s worthy of mentioning, that the music itself creates an indelible impression on the viewer. It is not melodic at all; it is a bunch of noise, sounds of different volume and tonality. All the sound and motion effects combined did not simply make me jump out of my seat and feel stupidly scared, as it happens a lot of times with the poorly thought-out “screamer” based horror movies. It did not only make me shudder quite often while I was watching the film, but it also brought awareness into my comprehension of the story. Adding up to that, it intensified the effects on viewers’ perception of the picture on the screen, assured full immersion into the atmosphere and concentrated viewers’ attention on the main turning points in the movie. Even during scenes that are quite bright, with not that much melancholy and low-spiritedness, the sounds were able to place emphasis on the dramatizing of the events. Also, the positioning of the camera and using slow motion to highlight the importance and tension of key moments creates a different form of approach, which helps the viewer to develop compassion and connection to an adversity faced by the main character.

Putting aside the fact that I was not watching the film in a theater, but on my laptop at home, it still impacted my sensual comprehension, connected with my interpretation of the plot. The soundtrack accommodating the tragic incidences, that Teddy has to endure, contributed to the realization of us losing our sense of reality vs. illusion alongside with the main character. At this point, we can no longer distinguish what is real, and what is not. It feels like not that the plot is not thought-out well, or that there are blanks in it, but that we ourselves were deceived and lost.

The psychological thriller pressures our brain, attracting our attention to the actions on the screen, making us stay completely focused on, and involved in unfolding events that happen in the movie. Insanely complicated, dynamic and unpredictable plot unveils sweepingly; impeccable work and inimitable style of Martin Scorsese, and the excellent acting performed will not leave you unsatisfied or indifferent if you decide to dedicate your time to watch this movie.