Shutter Island (2010)

(This is a mini-review of a movie I watched months ago.)

I've got little business reviewing Martin Scorsese's latest, SHUTTER ISLAND, so many months after originally seeing it, because it is a complex film. So instead of delving into the plot summary and an intricate review, I'll mention the few things I remember most about the film.

1. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY. The thing that sticks with me the most about SHUTTER ISLAND even all of these months later is the work Scorsese did with the excellent Robert Richardson on the film's cinematography. Though this movie came out right around the time of the Academy Awards show for the past year's films, I predicted then and continue to believe that although almost a year has passed, the film will be remembered for its lush and sometimes chilling camera work and deft frame compositions. Richardson last worked with Scorsese on "The Aviator" and is working with him again on his next film, "Hugo Cabret." And of course, he is the man behind the camera with Tarantino for the Kill Bill films and last year's stunning "Inglorious Basterds."

2. THE STORY WAS JUST "MEH" FOR ME. There was a lot of hype about the twisty, secretive plot of SHUTTER ISLAND and the mysteries and turns of the Dennis Lehane novel from which the script derives. But to me, the film was much better to look at than to listen to, and I probably waited long enough to see it that I was able to pick out some of the key plot turns in advance, which lessened my enjoyment. Of the three Lehane novels that have been converted to the big screen, I think this is the weakest. Eastwood's "Mystic River" was the best, and Ben Affleck did a fantastic job with "Gone Baby Gone," which I also liked better than this.

3. IN THE SCORSESE CANON, SHUTTER ISLAND FALLS NO HIGHER THAN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. As a film teacher, it made my heart sing the way this movie brought teenagers to Scorsese. A lot of kids raved to me about how great this movie was before I got a chance to finally see it myself. But these are kids who have not seen "Taxi Driver" or "Goodfellas." They have seen "The Departed," though, and that film is far superior, I think, to this. Scorsese's collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio are some of modern Hollywood's most rewarding films, and their partnership, I think, will one day be seen as one of the legendary director-actor collaborations. But for me, SHUTTER ISLAND felt more like an above average Hollywood mystery thriller than the work of an auteur and his onscreen muse.

3.0 out of 4