Shutter Island

༄.° “wounds can create monsters, and you, you are wounded, marshal.” 💉🌀 shutter island is a mind-bending, atmospheric nightmare. it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, among the first films i acquired on dvd, and the origin of several of my ongoing obsessions (including the history of asylums, lobotomies, and dennis lehane’s writing). i even chose shutter island, (albeit the novel), to focus on for a quarter of my undergraduate thesis. while i can’t overstate the importance of shutter island to me, i also can’t justify giving it a 5-star rating simply on the basis of its failures as an adaptation of the 2003 novel by the same title. it’s gorgeous, yes, but i feel like the novel has a better lead up and reveal of the conclusion. a few of the alterations made for times’ sake also leave the story feeling slightly incomplete, especially if you have read dennis lehane’s story. however, the acting is top notch, the color grading is stellar, and the horror doesn’t feel overpowering but instead lends itself to the story, furthering the participatory anxiety faced by our protagonist, teddy daniels. the lighting and smoke effects in particular are some of the best i’ve ever seen on film.