Well it was pretty good. It doesn't break any new ground for a genre picture but at least Scorcese treats his audience with respect. By that I mean, he doesn't load the film with "jack-in-the-box" scares and doesn't dumb down the answers to the questions the movie raises... well maybe just one exchange... during one scene.
The movie is more mystery than thriller. That's not a criticism, just a statement of fact. The movie is being marketed wrong.
Of course, in the age of "everything is not as it seems" plot devices, the movie dangles a carrot in front of us as to whether or not we can trust what we're seeing. We wrestle with rational explanations and paranoid delusions about the plot engulfing Leo DiCaprio's character.
I can see why the studio pushed the movie back. The reason given was that they had no strong openers for this movie season. If you look around (Dear John, Valentine's day, et cetera) they were right. But it's also not one of those Oscar contenders, not like his last two movies and, therefore, probably would have gotten lost in the shuffle back in December.
I don't know if any of this helps you determine whether or not to go see it. I'd say it's at least worth checking out.
It's hard to discuss the movie without giving away any of its secrets.
- S. Farmer
SHUTTER ISLAND now on DVD
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