Shutter Island: Boston-related Film Review #2

Found this review in my drafts folder of my iPad and thought I'd add it to the collection.

It might be kind of a stretch, but I'm classing Shutter Island in my Boston film category because it takes place supposedly on an island in the Boston Harbor and because we recently received it on blu-ray from Netflix.  Location is the only thing it will have in common with the others which are mostly Affleck brothers creations.

Martin Scorsese's attempt to create a Kubrick-esque piece of mind-bending film fell a little flat for me.  In general, it was an entertaining film and I like the concept, but something wasn't quite right, despite an wonderful cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley.

The film begins with US Marshall Edward "Teddy" Daniels (DiCaprio) arriving on Shutter Island, a secure facility for the criminally insane, via ferry. His ostensible purpose, the investigation of the disappearance of a dangerous and delusional patient, but as he admits to his partner, he is really searching for his wife's killer, a man he believes to be interned on the island.  Even this mission begins to give way to a deeper search for the truth as reality begins to become a moving target.  He knows something is not right, but he can't quite figure out what it is.

If dead wife, Leo, and shifting reality ring bells for you, you are not alone.  The themes bear a strange similarity to those in Inception, though the two films are vastly different. Still if you only want to see one, I would highly recommend Inception; I found it far superior (I reviewed it here).

Shutter Island just didn't quite transcend the ordinary. Shutter Island wasn't a bad film, but you hope for better with a combination like Scorsese and DiCaprio.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

 

I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild the other night at The Landmark with some friends from work.  Feeling very "filmy" I have to say I really enjoyed the surrealist Sundance hit.  It's what I would call an intuitive movie; to verbalize much of what goes on in the world of young Hush Puppy, a six-year-old girl who lives with her father in the fictional New Orleans adjacent bayou called The Bathtub, is to trivialize much of what you experience through her eyes.  

The wide-eyed wonder blended with fierce determination and strength of will of young Quvenzhané Wallis is riveting as Hush Puppy and her father played by Dwight Henry, is more three dimensional than the standard tough-love daddy.  The story of the people of The Bathtub is told through the adventures of young Hush Puppy and her daddy, trying to weather a storm that submerges their world in brackish water.  

As we follow their desperate attempt to restore their home and the community of The Bathtub, we feel the obvious Katrina undertones, but nothing feels forced, the story remains foremost in our minds and any political commentary is achieved through the emotional reactions the story elicits.  I don't want to discuss too much of the plot as I feel this is simply a film to be experienced, not analyzed.  I will merely add that in addition to being an entertaining and well written film, it is well cast with unknowns who absolutely look the part, and some of the fanciful, surrealist moments boast beautiful cinematography.  All in all, a good film.  Check out their site for where to catch the film: http://www.beastsofthesouthernwild.com/screenings or wait to catch it on Netflix.