Go Crazy! at Shutter Island.

Shutter Island
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams
Director: Martin Scorsese
Rating: **** (out of 5)

Summary: The disappearance of an inmate from the remote asylum known as Shutter Island, sees federal agents Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) being brought in to assist with the search and to solve the mystery of how she escaped from her locked cell...

After having the Oscar shaped emptiness in his heart finally filled in 2008, this is the first time in many years that Scorsese appears to be having fun, going through his encyclopedic mind of celluloid and indulging in terror, beauty, mystery and suspense whilst leaving the viewer feeling like a rat in a maze. You're watching an omnipotent master of cinema at work so just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Accompanying you on this metaphorical trip into the brain of Scorsese and out of the existential backside of Kafka, is a musical score full of cues that add weight to an already oppressive atmosphere. What your hearing doesn't quite fit with what you're seeing, which makes the scattered jigsaw pieces of plot even more difficult to fit together into anything resembling coherence. Just when you think you're one step ahead of everyone else, Scorsese pulls the rug out from under you and leaves you whimpering like a patient on the sticky auditorium floor.

In his fourth collaboration with the director, DiCaprio is all sweaty brows, shivers and jerks but also shows a maturity in his performance which, for the first time, makes him seem older than his youthful face would have you think. Michelle Williams also gives a unnerving performance which is equal parts happy homemaker and broken psyche. The remainder of the all star cast give passable performances, merely serving as red herrings and histronic cyphers as the film broods and twists towards a satisfying climax.

With its intimidating shoreline, air of mystery, nazi experimentation and nightmarish symbolism, Shutter Island leaves the viewer feeling as stranded as an inmate and just as in need of a padded cell. Despite the gravitas of DiCaprio, Kingsley and Ruffalo, the star of the show is Martin Scorsese and thankfully he's showing no sign of slowing down any time soon.