Shutter Island

Scorsese has always been my bushy-eyebrowed hero so naturally I was really looking forward to this. First hour or so was great too - really atmospheric, interesting...beguiling even. Had a really different feel to it. My brain was whirring away trying to second guess the story and my eyes were drinking in the sumptuous visuals. Can eyes even drink? Mine were. Some of the flashback/dream scenes were stunning. The sparring between Leo di C and Ben Kingsley was excellent as well. Those guys can act. Which is good because it is their job.

Second hour was not so good though. I'd pretty much worked out the ending and was becoming distracted by the often overbearing music, the stupidly hot cinema and the overlong running time. I guess it must be really hard to trim down shots and scenes that have been so carefully orchestrated but it can make things so much better. The film really doesn't end well either. It huffs and puffs its way over the finishing line even though the audience had reached a natural resolution about 10 minutes earlier.

This is the sort of film that's going to be a great late night watch for those who stumble upon it on the telly in years to come but there's no repeat views here for me. Shame really. I still adore Marty and I'm sure he has another truly great film in him somewhere. Hope so.