When movie studios have little faith in a film project they tend to place it at a time of the year when there is little competition. The early months of the year for example, are ample moments for these films to see a wide release and rake in some dough that may not have been earned otherwise. While it's true many of the films that satisfy a comfortable niche market during these cinematic lulls are considered among the years worst, every now and then a true gem emerges that is doomed to be forgotten by most critics and audiences by the time the new year roles around and a new batch of films is ready to fill that same dead zone.
"Shutter Island" was a Martin Scorsese film that surprised America by telling a remarkable chilling edge-of-your-seat thriller during a time when most people were still waiting for the big summer season to hit. Presenting a classic story of paranoia and creepy ambiance rather than jump scares or gross-out moments resulted in some big box office bucks and reminded us all that Martin Scorsese was a man who understands horror ("Cape Fear", anyone?).
Truth be told the story is somewhat predictable and if you are anything of a crime story snob than you could have probably guessed the ending of the film just by looking at the trailer; but that's not what makes this film so great. People tend to forget that originality is not the end-all be-all of cinema. When you take a familiar idea and put it into the hands of experts, sometimes the end result is something that transcends the limitations that are present at face, or paper, value.
Martin Scorsese brought his A-game with this one reminding, us all how much of an influence one auteur can make. The cast also did a commendable job breathing a lot of mystery and depth into their complex and puzzled labyrinthine characters' psyches.
The true show stealer with this one had to be the editing though. For those who pay attention, the movie subtly shift aspects of the scene around between cuts playing with the audiences' sense of perspective and understanding. Whether we all saw what was happening or not, our minds were still being fed information that something wasn't right from our view point. This slick style of mental manipulation was one of the hallmarks of this year for thrillers and to see the Oscars ignore it for the category of editing is a crime I won't soon forget.
If you haven't invested the time to catch this one then I suggest you do so right away. There's nothing here story-wise that will blow your mind, but the careful detail layered into every single shot and performance on display is mind bending and will have you replaying the film in your head days after you've finished viewing.
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