Mark Ruffalo

Some movies beg for repeat viewings, Shutter Island practically demands it. That is not to say it was hard to follow or the plot baffling in some way. There is so much more than meets the eye here, this is no simply detective story, so many small details and touches that a return viewing would bring already deep characters and scenes into an entirely different light. So profound is the mystery of Shutter Island that a second viewing many be as if watching a new film. Leonardo DiCaprio once again teams with Martin Scorsese, playing U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels. Sent to the fog shrouded tilter island to investigate a disappearance and the local insane asylum. Scorsese once again propels his actors to great heights. DiCaprio?s Marshal Daniels is a severely troubled man, the denizens of the asylum only serving to reminding him of his own labored mind, his past coming back to haunt him. An extraordinarily tight thriller, from the very first frame, as a boat emerges from the fog, Shutter Island is a masterwork of suspense, the plot thickens and the disappearance fades away to the greater mystery of the asylum, truly genuinely creepy. Scorsese has another masterpiece on his hands; the deeper picture slowly builds, each sliver forming a remarkable tense downright eerie account. Music was of particular note, a very quiet film at times, with a sudden, perhaps scary and startling, score. Not from jump scares but slow haunting images, the island itself comes alive, sinking its fangs into the viewer, entangling. Stunning visual and very well acted across the board. Scorsese continues to prove the he is in fact the greatest living director. I genuinely had absolutely no idea how the film would end, I could not imagine a way in which it could wrap up this enigmatic plot. Yet somehow it comes together, an ending so shocking and utterly spine-chilling, it changes this entire pervious events. I must see it again; I need to watch it with new eyes, watching for the small clues, seeing the minute word and actions, hinting at deeper events. A meticulously crafted film, the fog dissolves, reveling something remarkably heart wrenching.

The action scenes are great (not surprising, since the movie's directed by John Woo); they're the highlight of the movie. The writing and acting, on the other hand, are a different story. The script has good intentions, but ultimately fails due to characterization cliches, poor dialogue, and wanna-be sentimentality. Nicholas Cage acts in his typical, apathetic fashion (a zombie-esque scowl upon his face, peppered with the occasional slurred line) for most of the movie; the rest of the performers don't fare much better.

The movie has a regular script of a struggling man in the gangsters world. However Mark Ruffallo did a stupendous job here. He made the movie worth watching. Ethan Hawke too was pretty good here.

Gondry has a reputation as a gimmicky filmmaker - if you saw the half-baked Be Kind Rewind, you'd probably agree with that sentiment - but Eternal Sunshine is one of the most emotionally honest films I've ever seen. So freakin' good.