Plain and simple: Martin Scorsese is the man. If you can possibly believe it, there have been times during film discussions where people have dissed on Mr. Scorsese. At that moment, my jaw drops. For
Mean Streets alone, the man is a legend, then there are films like
Raging Bull,
Taxi Driver,
Goodfellas, and
The Departed. Not to mention, underrated gems like
The King of Comedy,
After Hours,
Kundun,
Gangs of New York and the much maligned
Bringing out the Dead.
Let me say it again: Martin Scorsese is the man. He is such the man, that when I spell his name wrong, spell check barks at me to fix it.
Now, he gives us
Shutter Island.
Before moving on, let's look at the writer's resume: Dennis Lehane. Lehane wrote
Mystic River and
Gone Baby Gone, both adapting brilliantly to the big screen. If you have witnessed the greatest show of all time,
The Wire, then you have seen something written by Dennis Lehane. Plain and simple, Lehane is the shit.
Now, Scorsese plus Lehane equals one bad ass film right?
Right!
Shutter Island is brilliant. It's one of those films that sticks with you for days, making you think about how the story went down, and why it shook you to your core. Furthermore, it's creepy. The setting feels like a monster ready to devour anyone at anytime with its cold metal cages and the cries from the insane.
Shutter Island seems like an homage to American Noir because of its bleak and paranoid tone. The way Scorsese chooses to shoot the film really adds to the setting with its gray tone and colorful flashbacks. It adds a nice contrast.
This is one of those films that needs to be seen on the big screen. I am not going to dive into the plot. There will be no spoilers here.
Thank you Scorsese for kicking so much ass. Keep 'em comin'!
