Leonardo DiCaprio at his best.

My friend recommended Shutter Island to me with the words: “It’s amazing, and plus you’ll love it because it references World War Two constantly”. I’ll admit I do have a little tiny bit of a fascination with war films like Schindler’s List, but let’s all be honest here; you’d be a little bit crazy, not to mention insensitive, not to completely admire it. Now, I’m a big DiCaprio fan, and no it’s not just because of the way he looks (though that hardly decreases my feelings towards him). I find he’s part of a rare breed of actors that can  convincingly pull off a huge variety of characters, my personal favourites probably being What’s eating Gilbert Grape (his performance is outstanding for someone not yet out of their teens) and the very obvious, Titanic.

Although this film is noticeably well over two hours, it is never  predictable. It is dark and mysterious in places and without a shadow of a doubt, it is shocking. I found myself slightly confused the whole way through it, but not so confused i gave up trying to work out what was happening.

This film is an adaption of the 2003 Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, and although I’m slightly intrigued to see if it keeps me as captivated as the film, I think I’ll find it similar to when I attempt to read murder novels; they just don’t have the same shocking, jump out of your seat value.

I like this film in the same way that I liked Harry Brown; if I’d have read the plot i might have been scared off by its male vibes and pulled an unimpressed face if someone had suggested we rented it out at Blockbusters. But actually I really like it and I’m pretty certain (unless you’ve read the book and it doesn’t match up to your high expectations) that you’ll love it too.