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SHUTTER ISLANDMovie Reviews
Period thriller set in 1954 about a pair of U.S. Marshals sent to an isolated island off the coast of Massachusetts, the location of a hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the escape and disappearance of a murderess. Cast:Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Max von SydowDirector:Martin ScorseseRelease Date:February 19, 2010DVD Release:June 8, 2010From:ParamountRating:RLength:2 hr. 18 min.
Shutter Island played to good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Chris Vognar wrote in the Dallas Morning News, "...takes a risky header off the deep end, and darned if you don't get suckered into following along.... rattles your cage and leaves you fumbling for a firm place to stand." • And Rene Rodriguez wrote in the Miami Herald, "Yes, you could argue the movie is simply a mood piece. But what a mood." More Reviews Below...
Shutter Island Positive Reviews (49 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD "...more engrossing than enthralling... leads moviegoers down a long hall of distorted mirrors, then pulls the expertly woven rug of plausibility from under their feet..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 932 words, 02/19/10
David Germain, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...long and wearying - brilliantly constructed, obsessively detailed, yet dramatically a piece of pulp schlock that's been overdressed and overstuffed..."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 732 words, 02/18/10
Bradley Jacobs, Us Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "Though sequences often have more talk than action, the rich story, haunting score and cinematography echoing 'The Shining' add up to a gripping journey."(See all of Bradley Jacobs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 126 words, 02/18/10
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...holds you, but it doesn't grip you.... The film is hokum passing itself off as more than hokum, but it's no accident that the resolution is so much better than the boggy middle."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 637 words, 02/19/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "...addresses some powerful, disturbing concepts but, despite effective performances by the leads, the movie's psychological impact is minimal."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,169 words, 02/18/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...sizzles with so much nerve-frying suspense that it's hot to the touch.... DiCaprio's most haunting and emotionally complex performance yet... Ruffalo is reliably superb..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 619 words, 01/29/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...atmosphere, ominous portents, the erosion of Teddy's confidence and even his identity. It's all done with flawless directorial command."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 995 words, 02/18/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "As the final revelations approach, the stakes diminish precipitously, and the sense that the whole movie has been a strained and pointless contrivance starts to take hold."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,047 words, 02/19/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...a divinely dark and devious brain tease of a movie in the best noir tradition... a maze so complex it threatens to cloud the story... Scorsese has given us a new noir classic..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 02/19/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an exquisitely crafted potboiler offering up 2¼ hours of thrills, chills and Leonardo DiCaprio freaking out in a nuthouse during a hurricane.... a rather elaborate trifle..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 02/19/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...hysterical, in the clinical and cinematic senses, followed by plodding, just when a potboiling contraption cannot afford to be.... classy, well-acted junk."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 02/19/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "Villains grin, bodies burn, faces bleed and the orchestra plays madly enough to bust its tuxedo buttons - and that's just the first 20 minutes.... feels as mixed-up as its denizens."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 282 words, 02/19/10
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: FAIR "Scorsese seems to have been drawn by the chance to quote from quasi-horror asylum B movies like 'Shock Corridor' and 'Bedlam'... suffocatingly movieish."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 389 words, 02/15/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...atmosphere, ominous portents, the erosion of Teddy's confidence and even his identity. It's all done with flawless directorial command."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 995 words, 02/18/10
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...dangerously epic for a talky thriller, but you forget the time and even whether the plot makes sense... the rattletrap engages you moment-to-moment..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 854 words, 02/17/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: WEAK(cg) "Just a couple of smirks shy of a Mel Brooks parody... takes Scorsese's crazy love of cinema to ludicrous extremes, forsaking all logic..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 749 words, 02/19/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "The film's final 15 minutes are intriguing and truly gripping... Was it worth slogging through the nearly two hours of damned muddle to get to those last affecting moments?"(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 771 words, 02/19/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...an overwrought mashup of Oliver Stone, David Lynch, half a dozen Italian splatter movies and one of the 'Silent Hill' video games."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 02/25/10
KEY CITIES (17 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...a pastiche of moody atmosphere, stylized flashbacks and dream sequences and a devotion to flagrant violence that finally turns rancid and repulsive.... It's just weird."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 345 words, 02/19/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...principally an exercise in mood and style.... In the Scorsese filmography, 'Shutter Island' is but a middling destination."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 517 words, 02/19/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: WEAK(cg) "The quality of the scene work shows a director of psychological insight, who gets exceptional work from his actors.... I'd say concentrate on that and eliminate the clutter."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 859 words, 02/19/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Scorsese makes this 1950s period piece his tribute to the psychological thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock.... the finale is a let-down, almost a cheat."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 475 words, 02/19/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...that rare class of failures that can only be made by talented people falling on their face while reaching for the moon."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 716 words, 02/19/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...no movie in recent memory immerses the audience so deeply in its look and feel... It's not a great movie so much as it is great moviemaking."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 656 words, 02/19/10
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...takes a risky header off the deep end, and darned if you don't get suckered into following along.... rattles your cage and leaves you fumbling for a firm place to stand."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 02/19/10
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...vastly intelligent... A film historian par excellence, the director, along with screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis, crafts a heady thriller out of Dennis Lehane's best-selling mystery."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 636 words, 02/19/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The movie's big moments hinge on long explanations, meant to clear everything up. But all the telling seems to neutralize Scorsese's kinetic power."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 853 words, 02/19/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a luridly effective thrill ride of a movie that leaves no old-dark-house stone unturned... a high-toned thriller unafraid to go a little crazy; like the book, you can't turn away."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 570 words, 02/19/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "DiCaprio is in intense mettle here and carries the film handily even as Scorsese piles on chilling and gruesome stuff for him to cut through."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 737 words, 02/19/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...ultimately it's an infuriating trick... it resorts to the kind of cheap switcheroo that's routinely excused in bad movies about madness, drugs and dreams."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 428 words, 02/19/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: EXCELLENT(cg) "...one of the few movies to ever flat-out fool me... There is raving madness here and also in Scorsese's intensely gothic method..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 02/18/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a taut psychological thriller... Working with a stunning ensemble of actors, Scorsese has crafted a work that reeks of classic filmmaking..."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 02/19/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a showy, arresting movie... popcorn entertainment polished to an unusually high sheen. Yes, you could argue the movie is simply a mood piece. But what a mood."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 615 words, 02/19/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...dangerously epic for a talky thriller, but you forget the time and even whether the plot makes sense... the rattletrap engages you moment-to-moment..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 854 words, 02/17/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...for a while it's fun to go through the motions... makes me wonder whether Scorsese's forgotten how to make his own movie."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 572 words, 02/18/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...an overwrought mashup of Oliver Stone, David Lynch, half a dozen Italian splatter movies and one of the 'Silent Hill' video games."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 02/25/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT(cg) "...marks DiCaprio's most moving performance in a Scorsese film.... a hauntingly entertaining and steady work."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,151 words, 02/19/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...requires multiple viewings to be fully realized as a work of art. Its process is more important than its story, its structure more important than the almost perfunctory plot twists..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 843 words, 02/19/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "As the final revelations approach, the stakes diminish precipitously, and the sense that the whole movie has been a strained and pointless contrivance starts to take hold."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,047 words, 02/19/10
David Edelstein, NPR Fresh Air: FAIR "Despite a lot of heavy emotional lifting by DiCaprio and fun turns by Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley, it's all like window displays in a movie museum or a movie morgue."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 353 seconds, 02/19/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...a divinely dark and devious brain tease of a movie in the best noir tradition... a maze so complex it threatens to cloud the story... Scorsese has given us a new noir classic..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 02/19/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "Expert, screw-turning narrative filmmaking put at the service of old-dark-madhouse claptrap... high-end popcorn fare adorned with a glittering pedigree..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,349 words, 02/13/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...a divinely dark and devious brain tease of a movie in the best noir tradition... a maze so complex it threatens to cloud the story... Scorsese has given us a new noir classic..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 02/19/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a mid-range and mid-achievement for Scorsese... dense in imagery but not rich enough in ideas, almost consistently entertaining but not entirely gripping..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,546 words, 02/04/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "As the final revelations approach, the stakes diminish precipitously, and the sense that the whole movie has been a strained and pointless contrivance starts to take hold."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,047 words, 02/19/10
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...requires multiple viewings to be fully realized as a work of art. Its process is more important than its story, its structure more important than the almost perfunctory plot twists..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 843 words, 02/19/10
22.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Shutter Island's reviews are separated by an average 22.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Shutter Island (49 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Shutter Island's reviews cover 97.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 33,596 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 686 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Shutter Island Coverage, Volume & Length (49 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 33.4 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Shutter Island's reviews on average broke 33.4 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Shutter Island's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Shutter Island (49 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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