Shutter Island: A Noir Classic with a Twist

A brisk exercise in the classic noir genre, Shutter Island plunges viewers into a world of shadows, paranoia, and psychological intrigue.

Two investigators arrive at an asylum on a remote island, a place that houses the most dangerous psychopaths. One of them, a woman who drowned her own children, has mysteriously vanished. As a storm gathers, shadows lengthen, clouds tear apart, and a thick fog envelops the ominous island. The old stones of the asylum reek of decay, and chilling screams echo from behind the barred windows. Ghostly figures wander around the desolate building, while a fireplace crackles, casting flickering shadows on the cold walls. Pain consumes inflamed minds, thoughts become tangled, and nightmares blur the line between reality and illusion.

A Descent into Madness

Shutter Island thrives on these dark, romantic fantasies, drawing heavily from the tropes of 1950s noir films. Scorsese revels in the creation of suspicious landscapes and unsettling interiors, much to the dismay of his protagonist – a grim investigator who arrives on the island near Boston to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of a patient from the hospital for the criminally insane. The investigator is further disturbed by the fact that the asylum’s psychiatrists seem even more villainous than their patients, with one of them being a German, implying a possible escaped Nazi. He suspects that these sinister figures with their needles are plotting something nefarious against him.

Scorsese’s Return to Form

After Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Departed, some critics suggested that Scorsese had lost his touch. Shutter Island effectively refutes this notion. While DiCaprio’s portrayal of the nervous investigator may seem fueled by a couple of bottles of vodka, and the film’s sensational twist is somewhat predictable within the first half-hour, Scorsese proves that he is far from creatively impotent.

It seems that Scorsese finds greater freedom in genre films than in the pompous, three-hour epics like The Aviator and Gangs of New York. He frolics, gleefully listening to the hellish musical wails, dances around while creating fog with a special machine, and exclaims “Ooo-ooo! Ooo-ooo-ooo!” He enjoys himself, and the audience reaps the rewards.