Martin Scorsese is one of my heros. Honestly, if I were to pick people who made me who I am today (excluding family and friends of course) Scorsese would be very close to, if not at the top of the list. He is a master of cinema, and all of his films have stuck with me and challenged me in ways that other films haven't. The only director today that comes close is the incredible Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood), but only time will tell whether he wil be able to match the cinematic prowess held by Scorsese.
Shutter Island is Scorsese's latest film and it is a masterpiece of the neo-noir genre. Scorsese has taken the darkened hallways of an Massachusetts insane asylum and turned them into a beautiful contemplation of what our minds our capable of. DiCaprio turns in one of his best performances (which if you ask me is saying something) as the tortured detective, Teddy Daniels, trying to solve the mystery of a missing patient, but unbeknownst to everyone else, Daniels has a hidden agenda that unravels as the film plays on.
And of course, there is the twist at the end that everyone is talking about. And here is my opinion about it: it's not that the twist is so shocking, but it adds a meaning and gives the film a sudden depth that forces the film to stay with you. The twist actually adds something to the movie if you allow it to sink in the way that it is supposed to. This is certainly a film that improves on repeat viewings.
The cinematography and editing are top-notch as Scorsese uses just about every trickin the book to capture the images and emotions that he wants. Daniels is haunted by flashbacks of his deceased wife as well as horrors that he witnessed during his campaign in World War II. These sequences are done with a phantasmagorical flair, matching on-screen beauty (although sometimes graphic the images are indeed somehow still beautiful) with incredible music. Scorsese wants you to know how much these events, these people, mean to Daniels. He wants you to know the weight that he carries on his shoulders, and he succeeds wildly.
I will admit that this is a difficult movie. But it is a rewarding one if you allow it to be. Scorsese is one of the best artists creating today and Shutter Island is a marvel. The same Scorsese themes are present: human nature, guilt, and the essence of violece; but he uses those themes to explore new ones as well such as the lengths the human mind will go to protect the body.
Scorsese is my favorite filmmaker not just because he makes great films, it's because his films apply to things outside of the world of celluloid. His films are cinematic marvels as well as gateways for people to explore themselves and the world around them. He is a master of his craft and his art demands to be seen, and Shutter Island is no exception.
No comments:
Post a Comment