Shutter Island

As a voracious life-long student of cinema, Martin Scorsese is easily one of the most knowledgeable filmmakers to have ever worked in the medium. Unlike some directors, he doesn't just throw images up on the screen and hopes it works out. Crafting effective sequences is more of a science than an art, and he knows exactly how to manipulate the ingredients to produce the desired outcome. Shutter Island is a good example of the master in his lab, tinkering with tried and proven potions to creep out and misdirect the audience. What starts out as a simple missing persons mystery slowly evolves into something else entirely. Clues are expertly dispensed throughout, hinting at, but never quite revealing the truth. For example, there's one blink-and-you'll-miss-it continuity error at the beginning of the film that makes more sense once the film is over. But as thorough as the final explanation is, the ending is somewhat open to interpretation. Exactly what does the last shot mean? Is it as straight-forward as it seems? While the story is compelling, it's the atmosphere that really stuck with me. Everything from the setting, to the music, to the trippy dream sequences all lend themselves to the eerie tone, which is maintained throughout. Like Memento, this is one you'll want to see a second time. But even then, I'm not sure I'll be able to put together the entire puzzle.