THE lunatics are taking over the asylum, or that’s what Martin Scorsese’s impeccably crafted psychological thriller would have us believe.
But then perception and reality are completely blurred in this 1950s-set mystery, adapted by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis from the best-seller by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone).
In many ways, Shutter Island is an odd fit for Scorsese, who has always punched low and hard on the mean streets of his beloved New York.
Here, he is all at sea on the Boston Harbor Islands, concealing some obvious sleights of hand with the plot.
The production design is flawless.
But, for all its style, Shutter Island is a largely predictable and pedestrian yarn, elevated by a superior cast. Even a film-maker like Scorsese cannot polish mediocrity to a golden lustre.
