Shutter Island (R)
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This is based on a book I haven't read. It came out in 2010, but I didn't see it until 2017. It's set in 1954. A U.S. Marshal named Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes the ferry from Boston to Shutter Island, on which is located Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane. On the ferry, he meets his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo). The two of them are investigating the escape of a mental patient named Rachel Solando, who had drowned her three children. Soon after they arrive, a storm hits the island, which will prevent the ferry from returning for a few days, as well as cutting out communication with the mainland. They meet the chief psychiatrist, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), who isn't quite as helpful as Teddy would like. But we also soon learn that Teddy has an ulterior motive for having requested assignment to this case. And we see frequent flashbacks to his time as a soldier in World War II, as well as dreams and visions of his late wife (Michelle Williams). Teddy says she was killed by a firebug named Andrew Laeddis, who started a fire in their apartment building. Laeddis had apparently been transferred to Ashecliffe some time ago, and Teddy wants to find him. But also, he'd learned of illicit experiments being conducted on patients there, from a former patient named George Noyce (Jackie Earle Haley). So Teddy wants to find proof of that, and expose the hospital's unethical practices.
It's all kind of confusing, but I always tend to enjoy this kind of movie. Such stories keep you guessing from the very beginning about what to believe, including whether any of the characters are what they seem. I really like coming up with theories about what's really going on, as I watch, and eventually finding out how close any of my ideas come to the truth. Of course I'm not going to divulge any of my theories, nor tell you whether they were right or not. But I will say the ending didn't really surprise me. Still, I thought it was a fun ride. And actually, Teddy's final line in the movie did kind of throw me, in a good way. And that's all I'll say.