Shutter Island.

'Shutter Island' is an American Psychological-thriller film released in 2010. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, a self assumed U.S Marshal, and Mark Ruffalo, Leo's assistant, as the main leads among many others. The film is regarded as one of the Top 10 films of 2010, chosen by the National Board of Review and also counts as one of the best films of Oscar winning actor, Leonardo DiCaprio.

IMDb: 8.2/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 68% fresh

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My Opinion:

It's a 2hr18min film, directed by a very reputed director, and stars two of the finest Hollywood actors. All this meant that when I was sitting down to finally watch this film, I knew I was going in for a spectacle!

Starting off, cinematography of the film is top-notch. It has a bone chilling music track, which when listened to without watching the movie, may appear boring, but suits perfectly well on the movie to create a dark and a tense environment, which is generally how a psychological thriller should be. The beauty of the film lies in how effortlessly it keeps the viewer engaged and never lets him/her wander off at any point of time. The film never really leaves any plot holes or, never shows any illogical sequences and successfully manages to make the viewer believe what he/she is seeing on screen.

I believe a film's success relies both on the script and the execution of the script by the actors and the director. And it seems this film has succeeded in both of these aspects. I'll breakdown the further review into 2 parts, talking about my favorite part first:

The cinematography:

The success of this part solely relies on the director and according to me, he has done a remarkable job. The film starts off with a mysterious tone and keeps the audience wondering what is actually happening in the film, which is a good thing, keeping the viewers on their toes. The character development is done brilliantly, not too slow, not too fast, just how I like it! All the transitions and the cinematic shots are wonderful. All the shots of the Mental Hospital on an island in Boston, where the film is based on, are brilliant and when combined with the music track of the film, provide the necessary creepiness to the film.

The Acting:

The actors, Leo and Mark Ruffalo, have done an exceptional job playing their roles. The dialogue delivery is on point and you never feel left out of a conversation. By this I mean the viewer always feels he/she is in the conversation himself/herself while watching the two actors talk. You'll realise this when you watch the film. Not only the lead actors, but the supporting actors have also done a wonderful job, for example Ben Kingsley, who plays the role of a German Doctor on the Boston Island. He has mastered the role of playing a calm anti-hero protagonist. The viewer goes through all kinds of emotions while watching the film, anger, surprise, anxiousness, nervousness, joy, and what not! All thanks to the actors.

Final Take:

This film raises the issue of mental health and its importance, and it did that way before it was popular, in 2010. It also shows the kind of treatment mental patients are receiving in various countries and how the patients are treated as mere lab rats for experiments on the brain. At one point, this film turns its direction completely and makes you wonder if all that you know is true or not! I watched this film recently and I think I spent those 2hr18mins of my life pretty well, in entire bewilderment! I strongly suggest you to take out some time and watch this film.

My rating: 9/10

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Another movie review by me: La La Land (wixsite.com)