Scorsese’s newest movie film, Shutter Island, sticks close to the director’s strengths of exploring the darker sides of human nature. Surprisingly, it is also the most cheerful film he has made to date! We start out with Scorese’s man-boy muse, Leonardo Dicaprio, investigating the disappearance of a psychopathic killer from Shutter Island, home for the criminally insane. Dicaprio’s investigation seems pretty slow until you realize that it’s all an allegory to the 17th century Holland Tulip Wars. Believe me, that little factoid adds much appreciated clarity to all those times Ben Kingsley stares off in the distance for waaaaay to long and whispers “tulpengekte”.
Dicaprio is terrified at first at all these mentally deranged human beings, especially that balding chick with the crazy eyes (the character is called Lady Cuckoo Beans, typical Scorsese laziness), but then comes to realize that in this 1950’s world the people of the island are just the progressive thinkers, homosexuals, feminists, and future folk artists of the future! When Lady Cuckoo Beans performs a rock ballad about freedom and tulips (OK Scorsese we get it!), Dicaprio realizes that he is actually home.
The love story between Jackie Earle Haley and Dicaprio is disgustingly beautiful.
As the movie progresses, the viewer begin to feel as though they themselves are crazy. Crazy for looking at someone like Lady Cuckoo Beans, or Mad Jack Simpleton, or Black Guy (I swear, that’s his name! Scorsese!!!!), and thinking “that person is awful because they want to murder me”, when we should have been thinking “That person is SANE because they want to murder the OLD me and make way for the new, better, progressive me! Thank you!!”
Spoiler Alert!!!! You probably guessed it, but I was very surprised to learn that Ben Kinglsey and Leonardo Dicarpro’s characters were actually the same man, himself a “looney” confined to a cage in 18th century Paris along side the Marquis De Sade. But Daniel Day Lewis’s surprise monologue in front of black as the credits rolled was the real gem of the picture. Yes, it is in dutch, but you understand what he is talking about. And that is the ravages of alcoholism.
2 comments :
I think you mean ROBOT alcolholism. It's really a blight on the whole robot community.
Well exactly! Apparently the whole movie is just an advertisement for Mega Man 10 coming to WiiWare in early March! Hey, it worked for Wonka, right? Am I right?
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