.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Let me throw a few titles at ya'. Casino. Goodfellas. Taxi Driver. Raging Bull.

Juices flowing yet? These are all titles directed by the master, Martin Scorsese whose filmography reads like a history lesson in film. Scorsese has been nominated six times for a Best Director Academy Award taking gold in 2007 with the cop/crime drama The Departed.

But wait. Here's a few more. The Aviator. Gangs of New York. The Departed. These titles are Martin Scorsese titles that starred not-so-young-anymore Leonardo DiCaprio. The two are a big a team as Scorsese was with Robert DeNiro last century. Bigger than Hanks and Spielberg. Bigger than Ford and Lucas. These two incredible talents have pushed each other to arguably their best work in their careers and it is with this realization that audiences will be brought to Shutter Island, their latest collaboration.

Intended to be released in 2009 and pushed into 2010 so that Scorsese could complete the film as intended without the rush and pressure of a late release Oscar push, Shutter Island takes place in 1954 when two U.S. Marshall's head out to a mental hospital to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients.

The U.S. Marshalls are played by DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as Teddy and Chuck respectively and they are called to Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital after the disappearance and proceed to work with Dr. Cawley (Sir Ben Kingsley) in an effort to piece together the circumstances surrounding the mysterious vanishing.

We learn through flashbacks that Teddy has other personal reasons for being on the island. Teddy's wife was killed in a fire and Teddy has been waiting for an opportunity to get to the island to help piece together some of the rather curious circumstances regarding his loss.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Shutter Island is Scorsese's most complex work of his career. Parts thriller and horror combined with high drama and tension, Shutter Island is unlike anything on his already impressive resume. Arguably, this might be Scorsese's most talented ensemble. Aside from Kingsley, DiCaprio and Ruffalo, there are supporting roles from Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Williams, Jackie Earl Haley, Max Von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Ted Levine and Elias Koetas. Each of the characters played by the supporting cast help progress a complex story that is as evolving as it is engrossing (although I could argue that Haley and Clarkson are wasted in what little screen time they are projected).

But Shutter Island isn't his best work (how can you beat Goodfellas?). Constant flashbacks and dream sequences slow down the momentum and at times you will wonder if what you are viewing is reality or some devilish nightmare. And the runtime at almost two and half hours can be hard on the bum no matter who you are.

Outside of some minor criticisms, Shutter Island does deliver. This film has more mood than my wife when menstruating and Scorsese shows that he can play Hitchcock with the best of them. As the story unfolds and the audience becomes part of the investigation into 'who is 67?', you will be challenged with various options leading up to the closing chapter's reveal. The acting is simply superb and this might be the first Scorsese film where you will actually notice the master direction.

With a few twists and turns in the unfold, most critics (including this one) will shy away from any reveals as to let the audience experience them as they were intended. There might not be anything M. Night-ish, but the story does go down some dark paths that are truly brilliant.

With the screening now complete, it is difficult to fathom how Shutter Island would have looked under different circumstances. When Paramount first optioned Shutter Island it was expected to be a David Fincher film with Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg attached to the project. Wolfgang Peterson was also once attached to the director's chair.

Moody and masterful, Scorsese was able to capture the complex details of Dennis Lehane's novel and Laeta Kalogridis' adapted screenplay without cutting the corners that normal book to screen adaptations chop for purposes of maintaining linear storytelling. And with the exact same release date as Oscar favorite Silence of the Lambs in 1991, you can expect that the studio is hoping that February 19th is their lucky number.