The later years of Martin Scorsese’s career have been filled with experiments and easy swings, andShutter Islandthankfully falls into the former category. Not thatShutter Islandis anything groundbreaking, butin the context of Scorsese’s filmography, it gives him a chance to lean into the detective film noir themes he has been toying with his whole career.Shutter Islandis a puzzle-box mystery thrillerthat relies on its oppressive moods to trap the audience and uses a solidLeonardo DiCaprioto catapult us into an inescapable labyrinth. Scorsese’s direction remains remarkably vibrant and youthful, mischievously teasing the central mystery subtly.
Shutter Islandfollows DiCaprio and his partner, played by Mark Ruffalo, as they investigate the disappearance of someone with a mental health condition on the island.The movie lovingly plays into its genre tropes and gives Scorsese his chance to don his hat and light up a cigar to smoke. Nothing aboutShutter Islandis particularly subtle or taken seriously. Instead, Scorsese knows the popcorn value of a movie like this and entrusts his actors with a similar sense of playfulness.Shutter Islandisn’t the best late-stage Scorsese movie, but it does show why he has been able to adapt to the modern industry by using more than just his name.
His later work doesn’t necessarily fit into the genre film category; if anything, he has taken delight in exploring similar themes from an older perspective.Shutter Islandis one of his more overlooked movies, but it shows you everything you need to know about the Scorsese we have today.
‘Shutter Island’ Is a Love Letter to Film Noir
Shutter Island
Scorsese’s later movies, likeKillers of the Flower Moonor even something likeHugo, don’t have that same sense of vitriolic anger at the system that something likeTaxi Driverhas. His movies have an added sense of maturity, not just because he isn’t a goodfella anymore, but because he is more interested in pointing out atrocities and injustice rather than reveling in them, except for something likeThe Wolf of Wall Street,which is mostly glorification.Shutter Islandsits somewhere within this boundary. When it leans into its genre, it doesn’t come across as gross asThe Wolf of Wall Streetcan, at times.Shutter Islandis a more restrained structural effort, which is what makes the twist effective. It puts us in the middle of the horror like all of his movies, but it feels sad to be there.
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Shutter Islandis a film noir witha modern, psychological spinthat feels like a weary look at the world and the violence that can lie within it. Scorsese is showing us the horror, and along with us sighing because he can’t bring himself to look away either. That’s what makes film noir impactful: the inevitability of violence.Shutter Islandplayfully sets this up with misdirection that doesn’t feel lazy or wasteful. By the time the twist hits, it all locks into place, and all that’s left after the adventure is bitterness at what’s happened, yet being unable to change it.
‘Shutter Island’ Has a Great Twist
Without giving spoilers away,Shutter Island’sfinal act escalates dramatically to a haunting conclusion. It’s depressing and twisted but still tinged with an atmospheric reality like it was only ever going to end in tragedy.Shutter Islanddoesn’t feel like Scorsese’s younger films because he doesn’t offer a power trip solution. The film noir elements work well because they create certain expectations for a popcorn movie like this, and casting DiCaprio in a dingy role sells it more.
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DiCaprio works well in the role because he’s more than an everyman, andhis partnership with Scorsesemakes it feel like they’re working with decades of cinema to find where they can make their dent.Shutter Islandtakes some elements from film noir but doesn’t overplay them. It feels big in moments when the claustrophobia of the location is emphasized, but the psychological torment is all very insular. Not much of it spills onto the island itself; it’s the island that feels like a character of its own, toying with DiCaprio.Shutter Islandknowingly references the genre, but not in a way that necessarily wants to draw comparisons. It wants to draw you to these classics only to make you feel smaller onShutter Islandby comparison.
‘Shutter Island’ Is a Solid Late-Scorsese Entry
Shutter Islandis a good example of what Scorsese has spent the latter years of his career trying to do, not reinventing his perspective, but instead showing the reality of what violence and power can mean.It isn’t as masculine asGoodFellasorThe Departed. It’s weaker, more vulnerable, and more adept at using genre tropes to subvert expectations. The film noir detective can be a removed character, butShutter IslandforcesDiCaprio into the frayand peppers the scenes with gentle clues as to the final result.
When it comes, it doesn’t feel satisfying in a traditional way; it just feels miserable but in a good way. It’s an effective twist because it brings everything crashing down around us and leaves us with nothing but the fragmented shards of where it all came from. Very few twists hold up ona second viewing, but Scorsese uses his cinematic knowledge to show us how vulnerable the removed detective can be.
Shutter Islandis a solid Scorsese film that deserves more attention today for how the director toys with us, blurring our vision with mystery and bitterness. And a bit of cigarette smoke.Shutter Islandis streaming onParamount+now.
