Shutter Island

2010 Leftovers Marathon, part 10 of 13

Data
Title: Shutter Island
Year: 2010
Length: 138 minutes
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Laeta Kalogridis, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
With: Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, Max von Sydow
Music: non-original music
Cinematography: Robert Richardson
Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: a US Marshall investigates an isolated institute for the criminally insane

My reaction
Concept:
Story: I'm not sure if Scorsese gives it away or if it was the trailers, but five minutes into the movie, I knew how it was going to end. This story does not work if you see the twist coming. And, contrariwise, if you don't see the twist coming, the rest of the movie would probably seem all the more tedious and cliche-ridden.
Characters:
Dialog: Some is great, some is terrible.
Pacing:
Cinematography: It tries very hard, and often ends up looking like crap.
Special effects/design: CG does not replace locations, people. Not unless you're making a cartoon.
Acting:
Music: Martin Scorsese Presents The Twentieth Century. A bit too heavy-handed, and its variety is jarring enough that it took me out of the story a few times (not that I mind being taken out of this crappy story). But it's such good music, I've still got to give full points here.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, ). It's like he made a huge list of things he liked in other movies, and just strung them together. I would have given it just a 5/10, but the song over the closing credits is good enough to make the other two+ hours worth sitting through.
Objective Rating (Average):