Stuttering Movie

Collision Course: Shutter Island

The little known Jacob’s Ladder starring an excellent Tim Robbins was a great horror film. For several reasons. Firstly, it effortlessly blurred and bent the line between reality and the kind of dream-like state that makes sweat spring from your body when you wake in the night, overpowered by a terrifying nightmare you’re sure really happened. Secondly, it pulled off what all films, no matter what genre, struggle to do: uncover a truth at the end that makes everything that came before it seem untrustworthy and also justifiable. A truth you should have seen, but could never have predicted.

Here’s the thing: Shutter Island, the Scorsese film we have been waiting a seeming age for, tries the same thing and fails miserably. It’s predictable, flawed to the hilt and about as unjustifiable and ridiculous as they come. Now we’ve got that out of the way we can concentrate on the good parts.

Oh, wait, there aren’t many. So don’t expect too much.

Well, there is one, actually: Dicaprio is good in this. Standard Dicaprio that may be, but he certainly does enough to carry the film. It’s not his fault that the script probably reads like the mangled wreckage of a mental-patient’s post traumatic fit in a chock-a-block china shop. And the opening is good, too. Broody and sinister, the first hour of the film is passable and the set-pieces are more than up to scratch. As for Ben Kingsley’s acting, we all know he doesn’t do bad stuff. Playing the role of the island’s chief psychiatrist, he comes in to his own in the latter part of the film. It’s just a shame there was no plot to accompany him…

So, that’s all you’re getting with this film, really. A return to top form it is not for the acclaimed director. Those who have seen Jacob’s Ladder are advised to stay completely clear or risk being offended, because this film is about as interesting (and long) as shopping for luxury bathroom accessories with my girlfriend.