Shutter Island | B+

     Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island is a genre film that doesn't necessarily confine itself to any one genre, least of all horror. Instead, this is a modernized noir thriller wrapped up in a whodunit that gets better as it moves along — even if it seems to be trying too hard the entire time. Daunting music accompanies the opening title sequence and then continues, until the atmospheric embellishments become their own cliché.
     It's 1954, and Leonardo DiCaprio stars as U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels. Teddy and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo, Zodiac, 13 Going on 30) are making their way to Ashecliffe mental hospital, located on the ominously foggy Shutter Island. A patient has escaped, and Teddy and Chuck are here to get to the bottom of things, though the deeper they look, the more suspicious the situation becomes.
     DiCaprio, as per usual when collaborating with Scorsese, is excellent. He plays the role with a combination of subtlety and intensity that if overdone or underplayed would have ruined the film. Ben Kingsley's Dr. Cawley, Michelle Williams' Dolores (Brokeback Mountain) and Ruffalo's Chuck are the backbones of the film. While Kingsley definitely gives a "look-at-me" performance, without Ruffalo's trusty sidekick or Williams' strong turn in the third act, the film would be simply sub-par. Jackie Earle Haley and Patricia Heaton also have scenes that are excellent and are too short for their own good, given how great the acting is in this film.
     What is not sub-par is the directing. While Martin Scorsese's résumé may precede him, Shutter Island has an artistic quality that can simply not be ignored. By using the noir-mystery theme to drive the film rather than scare tactics, every shot has meaning, every line has a purpose and overall, everything onscreen is thoroughly thought out. Shutter Island moves along at a comfortable but rather frantic pace from flashbacks to dream sequences to the actual mystery. As a viewer, you come to realize that it's not so much about figuring out the mystery behind Shutter Island, but in appreciating how it's presented.
     In the way that our parents are able to talk about how they saw the famous Robert De Niro and Scorsese collaborations in theaters, we will be able to brag about how we saw all the DiCaprio and Scorsese movies to the next generation. While it's no The Departed, Raging Bull or Goodfellas, with Shutter Island, Scorsese has definitely cemented his place in a league all his own.