Girls of Geek Movie Review: Shutter Island

Written by Scotty

The mind is the most powerful tool that anyone will ever possess.  It controls everything that we do, from shaking hands to writing fantastic novels.  It is the one thing that if you can control correctly will bring you happiness and keep you from harm.  But if you lose control of your mind, it can play all kinds of tricks on you and you will not be able to decipher reality from fiction.

Marshal Teddy Daniels is on his way to Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane with new partner Chuck Aule.  Although this is a new relationship between the two men, they both put each other at ease and feel as if they have known each other for years.  With their emerging friendship, Daniels makes sure not to keep anything from his partner and will keep him in the know for the upcoming events.

A patient was reported missing and Daniels jumped at the opportunity to get to the island to investigate, but he has an alternate motive as he has heard that the man who killed his wife would be receiving treatment at the hospital.  Being greeted by the head of security, Teddy and Chuck are forced to give up their weapons if wanting to enter any crevice of the island so nobody will get hurt.  Although they fight this rule, they must comply so they can meet the head of the facility, Dr. Cawley.

The good doctor believes that all of his patients are curable and tries every alternative situation before turning to drugs for the treatment.  Albeit, he has failed in the past, he is not ever willing to give up on any of his patients.  Teddy and Chuck take note in this, but all that Teddy wants to do is to locate Andrew Laeddis, the man who killed his wife.  Not having full run of the facility hinders Teddy’s search for the man, but when a hurricane hits the island and knocks out the power, he is able to gain full reign of Ashecliffe Hospital.  Running into strange characters and fighting back his own nightmares, Teddy is able to locate an old friend, George Noyce who tells Teddy about the island and what was really happening on the premises. 

Shutter Island takes a long hard look into the life of Teddy Daniels as he is assigned to find a missing person from a secluded island hospital.  Teddy takes the liberty to also fulfill his need of vengeance in trying to locate the man who killed his wife while on the island.  Battling with migraines, an uncooperative staff, the weather and his own dreams, Teddy finds clues of what is really happening on the island and will do everything in his power to stop it when returning to the main land. When the storm outside gets worse, the storm that burns within Teddy gets fierce as he loses all ties to reality while on the island for the criminal insane.  

One thing about a good thriller movie is how the story flows and this one does just that.  With clues around every corner and people acting strangely towards the Marshal’s, it is still a great twist to see how the movie ends.  With the flashbacks that Teddy suffers while thinking he is being drugged, it is just amazing to see how he is able to hold it together for so long.  Having a goal is the only thing that keeps the Marshal from going insane in such an intense situation and makes the movie just that better.  With enough scares and a strong story, this should be added to anyone’s list that likes a mystery or something that is just that much different from the normal.  Happy viewing. 

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