I have to say, I was slightly disappointed. The movie left much to be desired. I left the movie feeling confused, and even after realizing (with a little help with my friends) what the movie was going after, it still didn't feel quite right. With good movies (at least, good psychological thrillers), when you think back on the movie, all the pieces should fit back together, pulling the movie together as a whole. Needless to say, Shutter Island failed to do so.
I feel like I might need a second viewing to decide just how bad it was. ("Bad" sounds so harsh though - it wasn't really that bad, just not very good.) This was Yilong's second time watching the movie, and he mentioned that he had noticed a lot of inconsistencies this time through. Reminds me of House of the Flying Daggers. It just doesn't make much sense if you think about it too much. Too many loopholes in the script.
Nonetheless, Shutter Island was very visually appealing. Well, several of the dream/hallucination/flashback sequences were - not so sure about the rest. (Kind of like House of the Flying Daggers in that regard too, except better. House of the Flying Daggers seemed a bit over the top with the brightness of the colors, imo.) Anyway, the dream sequences were very well done - a "visual feast" if you will. I'm just repeating myself now, but I really really enjoyed the way these scenes were done.
The scary music was a little over-the-top, and a little unnecessary/unfitting at times. I know that all scary movies use music to heighten the suspense, but in this case, the music detracted from the experience rather than adding to it. Several times throughout the movie, my attention was drawn toward the music and away from the plot. A good soundtrack should fold seamlessly into the plot, such that you have to actively think to even notice it. Shutter Island's soundtrack was just loud and distracting. A quick scan of the article on Wikipedia tells me that no original soundtrack was written for the film. That may be why the music felt a bit misplaced. It wasn't all bad - there where just several instances where it felt like the music was trying too hard and became too overpowering.
All in all, Shutter Island left much to be desired. To be fair, I think it deserves a second viewing before it can be fairly judged. However, given that I walked away feeling unsatisfied on even the first watch, I'm not particularly inclined to sit through it all again. For a better psychological thriller, check out Pan's Labyrinth or Fight Club (yes, I'm counting Fight Club - it has a psychological element. Watch it and you'll see). Shutter Island pales in comparison.
Hats off to the cast though. No issues with the acting. Although, I'm not one to say much about acting - I usually don't have any problems with the acting (unless it happens to be Keanu Reeves in Sweet November, or Taylor Lautner in New Moon - once you get over how hot he is), but that's probably because I don't know too much about it.
Still a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio though, but mostly I think I'm impressed by his performance in The Departed, as well as the amazing amount of breadth and longevity he's had as an actor. I really ought to check out some of his other movies, like The Aviator. Speaking of which, did you realize that Martin Scorsese's past four movies have all starred Leo? Reminds me of the Christian Bale - Christopher Nolan pairing. Which reminds me of how talented Jonathan Nolan must be, and how under-appreciated, because screenplay writers never get the attention they deserve. Also, speaking of the Nolan brothers, I sill want to see Memento.
Ahh, but I'm getting off track now. Anyway, I'm a little disappointed that the past two movies I've seen in theatres (the one before this being Valentine's Day) were both not very good. I just want to see a good movie, dang it. Makes me want to only watch movies which have gotten good reviews. Or chick-flicks with mediocre reviews - those I can deal with - the gushy, feel-good, unadulterated romance makes up for the silly predictable plot most of the time.
Mmm, okay. I'm out.
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