There’s been plenty of talk of Shutter Island being ‘not up there with Scorsese’s best’, which would seem to be a tad unfair on the great man.  That’s not to say that it’s on a par with the likes of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas, but that after over half a century as a director, and with varied approach to new work that reflects his obsession with film from all eras, it wouldn’t be too extravagant to suggest that he’s earnt the right to choose the projects he feels like making, regardless of whether they have the potential to rank up there alongside his earlier masterworks.

Particularly in these later years, Scorsese is seemingly intent on keeping things varied as much as possible.  In the past decade he’s made grand biopics (The Aviator), music documentary and performance movies (No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Shine A Light) and The Departed, the remake of Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs which was crowdpleasing enough to finally see the Academy reward him with his long-overdue Best Director Oscar.  Just like with his previous remake, 1992’s Cape Fear, there was a sense of Scorsese cutting loose to deliver a populist hit in his own style.  The same could be said for Shutter Island - it’s highly doubtful Scorsese himself would regard this as an important entry in his body of work.  More likely it was a good opportunity to take a crack at a Hitchcockian horror mystery.  And a decent crack it is – the pairing of the histrionic Dennis Lehane novel and Scorsese made for an enticing prospect which the movie delivers on… up to a point.

What works and what doesn’t with Shutter Island is pretty much the same as with The Departed: the positives are the great cast and gorgeous cinematography from DoP Robert Richardson, helmed by a master of his craft with the energy and verve of a director half his age; the negative points for a slightly overcooked plot that doesn’t bear up to close scrutiny, with perhaps a melodramatic step or two too far.

Critics knock Leonardo Di Caprio for his young looks, saying that he’s not believable in the more grizzled roles he’s taken.  However, as Teddy Daniels, the state police detective hunting a woman who’s gone missing from the maximum security psychiatric prison on the titular island, he certainly looks like he’s inhabiting the skin of a man who’s seen too much of the world’s horrors, plagued by nightmare visions of his late wife (Michelle Williams)  and his experiences in World War II.  Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow are well cast in their roles as the head doctors at the facility, though as big fans of Mark Ruffalo, we were perhaps hoping for a slightly more dynamic role for him as Daniels’ partner Chuck.  To say too much about who else is in the movie is to spoil the impact of their arrival and hint at the plot development, with several strong cameos from some of the most reliable character actors around.

For the bulk of the 148 minute running time, the film is atmospheric fun, with a palpable tension built up by the storm-lashed, isolated setting, excellent 1954 art direction and a fittingly shrill score.  However, as the plot reaches its denoument, red herrings are tossed out and the true meaning of Teddy’s chase comes to light, the film loses the assuredness of its footing.  There’s a slackness to the final act which will find some viewers looking at their watch between revelations – audiences are much more tolerant of long films than they were, but only if they don’t feel long – unfortunately in this case, the pacing of the movie’s last stretch does seem to slow down at points where you feel the movie could be a mite snappier.

In fact, the final act problems are similar to those that afflicted previous Dennis Lehane movie adaptations Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, which both suffered slightly from the writer’s tendency for last-act melodrama.  The problem is more prevalent here, being as it is an adaptation of a book that Lehane himself admits as being his most extreme work.  It’s one of those cases where it’s 50/50 whether the movie is enhanced or diminished by repeat viewings, though the feeling is that a second view would expose some of the story logic as being somewhat suspect.  Ultimately, Shutter Island is perhaps what Scorsese always knew it would be – not a masterpiece, but a ‘popcorn’ movie in all senses: you’ll enjoy it for the most part, but you won’t feel entirely nourished afterwards.

6/10

Shutter Island was released on Friday 12th March 2010 and is in cinemas now.