2010's Shutter Island is like no other Martin Scorsese film. Not the kind of realism-tinged examination of troubled men nor an exploration of the criminal, religious or artistic worlds Scorsese often obsesses over, Shutter Island is a straight-up disturbing psychological thriller with lavish helpings of horror. This is not just a singular film for Scorsese stylistically or genre-wise, however - Shutter Island is also the director's most mysterious project. Blurring the line between truth and fiction, reality and hallucination, Shutter Island is a character study that doesn't even allow you to trust its main character, never mind the many shady figures around him. Already dense with ideas and period detail, Shutter Island offers one of the great movie twists of the decade prior to its close, before potentially switching things up again with an ambiguous final scene. It's a film that cannot be fully digested after just one sitting, and a film that will find a different result in the interpretation of every individual viewer. There are numerous avenues to go down when attempting to uncover the true 'meaning' of Shutter Island; but it is, in actuality, a film of many meanings all at once. Major spoilers for the film follow - from here on out, it's a thorough examination of Shutter Island and its tricky twist climax.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
