Shutter Island

[Bullitt68]

Fans of Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone will be happy to hear that another novel from Dennis Lehane is being adapted, this time by the maverick Martin Scorsese and re-teaming him with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Shutter Island (2009)

The film is currently listed as being in post-production and has a release date of October of next year.

The film is an adaptation of Lehane's 2003 suspense novel of the same name.

Review taken from Booklist:

Lehane is red hot--his Mystic River (2001) is currently being filmed by Clint Eastwood--and he returns with another blistering page-turner. It's 1954, and U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule arrive at a small island in Massachusetts' Outer Harbor. It is home to Ashcliffe Hospital, a federal institution for the criminally insane, and one of the patients has escaped. Although the two men are new partners, they have already developed a wry, jocular relationship while also swapping personal, painful details. Daniels' lost his much-loved wife two years prior in a fire, while Aule requested a transfer out of Seattle after being harassed over his personal relationship with a Japanese American woman. After interviewing the hospital's medical personnel, both men have the feeling they are being stonewalled, especially by the director, who seems to alternate between a cold authoritarianism and a sudden and sweeping compassion. When the island is hit by gale-force winds and Aule disappears, Daniels must go it alone, beset by the fear that he has been fed psychotropic drugs and the belief that the hospital is performing radical brain surgery as part of a secret-ops program. Lehane throws in one mind-bending plot twist after another in a psychological thriller that will leave readers in suspense right up to the end. A master of the adroit psychological detail, Lehane makes the horrors of the mean streets pale in comparison to the workings of the human mind.

I will STRONGLY RECOMMEND giving this book a read. It's one of my favorite books and has without a doubt one of the best, creepiest endings ever, and if Scorsese can pull it off on celluloid, films like The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense will be taking a back seat to a new shocker of a film.

[Bullitt68]

ttt

[Mattchew]

Well the story sounds like something I really would enjoy. Since you gave it a strong recommendation, I think that I may actually choose to read it next, after I'm done with Into The Wild.

[re93animator]

Bullitt68, I read Shutter Island a while back (from your recommendation), so I decided to bump this topic back up. Anyway, I thought it was fantastic. So much that I actually decided to pick up a copy of Mystic River afterward (which I was also impressed by).

I'm lookin pretty forward to this feature film. But, I doubt Scorsese could pull off the ending as much as you hope he can. Even in the novel I didn't think the climax was as much of a shocker as you put it out to be. But, if Scorsese captures the psychological horror, mystery, and ominous mood of the book properly, I think we'll have a great one on our hands.

[DrPepper21]

I'm really looking forward to this movie.

I have not read the novel though but I might pick it up the next time I'm in a book store.

[Bullitt68]

Originally Posted by re93animator

I'm lookin pretty forward to this feature film. But, I doubt Scorsese could pull off the ending as much as you hope he can.

I have faith in Marty

Originally Posted by re93animator

Even in the novel I didn't think the climax was as much of a shocker as you put it out to be.

It might be a contributing factor that I didn't have the ending---or the book in general---talked up much and didn't expect such a powerful ending, so it really took me by surprise and it had a lot of impact. I'm not saying that's why it didn't take you by surprise because every audience member and reader is different, but all I can say is that ending was a big kick in the pants for me.

Originally Posted by re93animator

But, if Scorsese captures the psychological horror, mystery, and ominous mood of the book properly, I think we'll have a great one on our hands.

Absolutely. This is what I'm hoping for. I want Scorsese to make the mental institution comparable to the Overlook. I want dark hospital corridors, slow-pacing, tracking shots, great sound, a creepy score, etc.

I'm trying---and failing---to curb my enthusiasm for this film. I can't help but be extremely excited and I hope the film doesn't disappoint to where my high expectations cause me to feel underwhelmed.

Originally Posted by DrPepper21

I have not read the novel though but I might pick it up the next time I'm in a book store.

I'll say this: Reading the book is essentially reading a spoiler to the film, so if you like movies more than you like books, you may want to hold off and experience the twist on film.

The drawback to that, of course, is that Scorsese fails to pull off the ending with the same impact and then you can't even go back to the book where it worked because that's been spoiled.

It's a tough call and I thought I'd just throw that out there for you to consider.

[re93animator]

Originally Posted by Bullitt68

Absolutely. This is what I'm hoping for. I want Scorsese to make the mental institution comparable to the Overlook. I want dark hospital corridors, slow-pacing, tracking shots, great sound, a creepy score, etc.

I'm trying---and failing---to curb my enthusiasm for this film. I can't help but be extremely excited and I hope the film doesn't disappoint to where my high expectations cause me to feel underwhelmed.

Whenever I raise my expectations to a film, I'm not normally let down (strange, I know). I'm pumped for Shutter Island as much as I was for The Mist and The Wrestler.

[DrPepper21]

Originally Posted by Bullitt68

I'll say this: Reading the book is essentially reading a spoiler to the film, so if you like movies more than you like books, you may want to hold off and experience the twist on film.

The drawback to that, of course, is that Scorsese fails to pull off the ending with the same impact and then you can't even go back to the book where it worked because that's been spoiled.

It's a tough call and I thought I'd just throw that out there for you to consider.

I think I'll see the movie first actually.

I already have a large enough stack of unread books, adding another to the heap wont do me any good.

I'm sure I'll know from yours and re93animator's reactions to the movie as to whether or not he pulled it off. If not then I'll read it.

[re93animator]

YouTube - Shutter Island (2009) Trailer

YouTube - Shutter Island (2009) Trailer

Well, I can't remember being pumped for a film as much as I am now.

What do you guys think?

[Bullitt68]

Now it's literally impossible for me to curb my enthusiasm even the littlest bit. I'm shaking with anticipation. The next few months couldn't pass fast enough.