Shutter Island By Martin Scorsese

I'm still at a loss as to what I truly think of 'Shutter Island', having waited so long for this film, it was never going to live up to the anticipation to what Scorsese would do now that he had won an oscar.

Shutter Island is a film of two halves. The first half is Scorsese at full tilt. Not so much with intricate shots like in goodfellas or the fantastic dialogue of the departed, or the operatic in Casino and Gangs Of New York but with sound and lighting. His use of sound in the first half of the film is overwhelming. Sound effects are all off kilter and the score hammers you over the head. It allows you to get disoriented just like Teddy, played by the wonderful DiCaprio, who has finally traded in the idea of being intense all the time equals great acting. Here he shows lightness and love in his wonderful surreal dreams with Michelle Williams at the beginning.

But the second half falls flat, having to try and give an answer to everything that came in the first half, some things are best left unanswered, giving an explanation only cheats us off the horror that is going on in the film.

Much will be written off its setting, just after World War II and Macarthiasm is in the air but to me the film really isn't about any of that. I found the film most intriguing when it delves into the notion of self and whether we can offer up counter argument anymore to the appalling corruption in the world without being hunted down when we get too close to the bone.

I loved this film and I can't wait to watch it again, if just for the thrill of being in the power of a master who is still exploring, still searching and still trying radically new things in main stream cinema at least for the first hour or so anyway.