Martin Scorsese attempts to pull off a old school Hollywood genre thriller, but is hampered with a twist that can be seen a mile off (See the trailer? You figured it out) and script bloated to the point of asphyxiation. Leanardo stars as a Deputy Marshall sent to solve the mystery of a missing patients at the Federal mental hospital on Shutter Island. De-cap does great work with the material (The man cries at least a dozen times. It never feels off). The problem lies not with the cinematography (which is controlled), the performances (which are solid if unspectacular), or sadly infrequent the over the top fantasy sequences (Reminiscent of The Red Shoes) but with the general execution of it all. Suspense is consistently defused by length. There's a lot of green screening going on that jarred me straight out of the narrative. Instead of a film where the paranoia is tightened as the running time rolls on, we get something that slowly unravels at a ponderous pace. You never feel the fear the protagonist is experiencing. The worst offender is a finale that goes on...and on...and on...to the point that you'd just wish it would finally end. The final coda is bitter sweetly realistic, but it's a shame that the general meal leaves a sour taste in ones mouth.
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