One of the many things I have in common with my mammy is that we both love going to the cinema, so where better to go after a nice dinner on Mother’s Day than to the local plex?  When we arrived we had no idea what was on so it was a matter of going to see whatever was starting within the next while.  My mam didn’t want to see Alice in Wonderland 3D and I wasn’t pushed on her soppy ‘rom com’ choice so in the end we went to see Shutter Island.  We went to see this film because it’s a Martin Scorsese movie staring Leonardo DiCaprio and that was good enough for us. I had no idea whatsoever as to the plot and that is my favourite way to see a film, so massive pick-o-mix in-hand we went in.

The film is based in 1954 and as it turns out Shutter Island is a hospital for the criminally insane!  DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, who, along with his partner, is sent to the Island to help locate a murderess who has escaped.  Ben Kingsley plays the islands head doctor, Dr. Cawley, a man who believes in treating patients with respect and not the horrid treatment of his piers.

As Daniels searches for the missing woman we soon learn that he is still trying to come to terms with the death of his wife (played by Michelle Williams) and that he has come to the island to not only find the missing woman but also because he has tracked his wife’s killer to the scary looking “ward c”.  Daniels has investigated the island from afar and wants to see for himself if the patients are treated correctly or if there is something sinister going on.  I won’t say any more on the plot as it is wonderfully woven around yet another amazing performance by DiCaprio and I don’t want to spoil it

I have to say that, although I’m not a fan of all his films, I am a fan of DiCaprio as an actor.  I think he is a great deal more than a good looking guy and performances such as this shows how he can carry an entire movie single-handed with consummate ease.  Scorsese can at times be a little moody for me, lots of mist and so on, but, although there was a bit of that in this film, the master was yet again at work, and, although this film is no Taxi Driver, it does stand up on his impressive resume.

There were a few moments in the film that had me hiding behind my hand and sinking in the chair but I am a total wuss so don’t go by me.  Later my mother told me she thought it might be a horror but was afraid to tell me before we went in in case I wouldn’t be on for it and she’s right, I wouldn’t.  However, no such worries, this film is no horror, just a well-made thriller with a wonderful atmosphere that sucks you right in.

Shutter Island is one of those film that you are constantly trying to figure out.  Are people who they seem to be, is what is happening actually happening?  You see it all through Daniels’ eyes and are with him every step of the way.  I have to say I love a good story and this is a great one.

So if you like to be a bit scared, but not too scared, and you like a plot that twist and turns, this one is for you.

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