I know that I promised a review of all three Lord of the Rings films, but when I had finished The Fellowship of the Ring and was halfway through The Two Towers, my last semester of college began and I lost control of my reading and writing for this blog. Someday I’ll pick LOTR back up, but for now I have some current books and movies to review.
Be aware that there may be a few spoilers in my review. Also, don’t be offended if I seem judgmental and elitist – it is in my nature to be so. I’m critical because I care.
Shutter Island is written by Dennis Lehane and was published in 2003. It is a New York Times Bestseller, which immediately makes me suspicious, because there are many books that make it onto that list, and most of them are no good. The mild strength of Shutter Island lies in the story. Even though the issue of the missing patient Rachel Solando is settled halfway through the novel, there are many loose ends that need tying up, and many questions that readers desire to find the answers to. And while the ending is not as surprising or perhaps as finely crafted as it could be, Shutter Island was still an enjoyable read.
I found that there was a weakness in the writing. I understand that not every contemporary author is going to be a stickler for language like James Joyce, but I felt at times that this novel seemed unedited. Things like diction and strong sentence structure were really lacking. I shouldn’t be reading a book and come upon a sentence that is so poorly written it makes me think, “Hm. I could have written that better.” This author is probably making millions, not to mention the multiple movie deals he has now made (Mystic River, Gone, Baby, Gone). If Lehane is able to make Executive Producer on a Scorsese feature film, I’d say he’s doing okay. Having said that, the best parts of the novel were the main character Teddy Daniels’ dream/hallucination/flashback sequences. They were presented in truly beautiful language. Lehane appears to have an acute sense of longing and loss, allowing the reader to feel those emotions as the character is experiencing them.
The film version of Shutter Island was directed by Martin Scorsese, and despite all of the hype, was rather disappointing. This excitement was mainly focused on the renewed partnership of Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio and the director’s long line of usually masterful films, but I have to say that neither delivered anywhere near a stellar performance. DiCaprio’s usually superb talent was lacking, but to be fair, I saw no character development from most of the actors.On Scorsese’s end, I felt that the film was rough, as though like the book, the editing was rushed. Scenes were cut together with no transitions, sounds and lights were loud and harsh, and the score was annoying and insistent. Everything about the movie screamed that it be recognized as a thriller, but it was not thrilling and it was not frightening. The dream/hallucination/flashback sequences were not as complete or immersive as they could have been (as they were in the book), although the very last that depicts the death scene was heartbreaking and sincere.
Finally, I want to say that although the film turned out to be rather uninspired, Shutter Island is a solid adaptation. It sticks very closely to the book, and there are only a few instances where the film strayed in terms of story.