In the opening sequence of “Shutter Island,” a thickly accented U.S. marshal (Mark Ruffalo) aboard a ferry near Boston points his finger from the bow and asks the pilot, “Is that where we’re going?” Cue a shot of huge island, a hulking place that looks like it might hide the remains of King Kong. Because the boat’s headed straight for the island, and because the marshal supposedly is competent and sane, an audience member, not to mention the ferry pilot, could be forgiven for asking, “Where else do you think you’d be going?” The introduction may just be a way of saying we’re entering into questions of sanity, but at least they’ll be obvious. “Shutter Island” is a fun psychological thriller with roots in the B-movies of the ’50s. Based on a book by Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”), Martin Scorsese’s film follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) as they investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer), a patient at the island facility for criminal lunatics. This isn’t just any psychiatric institution, but a former Civil War fortress, approached with strangulated violin screeches to signify its creepiness, and harboring rusty old architecture that squats like a great iron growth. Teddy and Chuck are introduced to Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), complete with beady eyes, pipe and attitude, who introduces them to the even more suspicious-looking Dr. Neahring (Max von Sydow), who Teddy suspects might be a former Nazi. A giant storm is headed their way, which they hope won’t cut the power to Ward C, where the most dangerous lunatics are housed. Do you think it will?
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In the opening sequence of “Shutter Island,” a thickly accented U.S. marshal (Mark Ruffalo) aboard a ferry near Boston points his finger from the bow and asks the pilot, “Is that where we’re going?” Cue a shot of huge island, a hulking place that looks like it might hide the remains of King Kong. Because the boat’s headed straight for the island, and because the marshal supposedly is competent and sane, an audience member, not to mention the ferry pilot, could be forgiven for asking, “Where else do you think you’d be going?”