A Martin Scorsese, no shit Sherlock.
Here’s what I liked:
The biggest surprise here is that DiCaprio was perfect for the role. His character feels as far from his role in The Departed (another Scorsese) as that role did from Titanic. I never expected the versatility that DiCaprio is displaying, which is always pleasantly surprising.
I can’t say much on the matter of story except that it was great, due simply to the fact that there’s numerous hints to the several twists. Aside from saying it’s a psychological thriller about an FBI agent whose wife passed away reviewing an escape from a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane, anything else is quite literally a spoiler.
The acting was great by everyone, and the same can be said for the setting. The story is set on a sort of psychiatric Alcatraz, where nefarious experiments are believed to be taking place on its residents.
What I disliked:
While I loved the acting, the film by its nature was rather devoid of emotion, which is sure to be a killer for many people wanting to watch this. Also like many psychological thrillers, it’s likely not worth more than one or two viewings, simply because a puzzle isn’t as fun once you know the answer.
The one thing I personally disliked about the movie was the very end. Not the ending, and not the final twist mind you, but quite literally the last minute or two. The ambiguity in that final moment is normally used to great effect in psychological thrillers, however it just struck me as very anticlimactic. The storyline hints to DiCaprio’s character making a very stupid decision at the end, I took it as clear as day, however it doesn’t happen. With Scorsese directing it could have been an adrenaline filled flash in the pan ending. However, quite sadly, it wasn’t. What happens or what is implied (depending on how you take it) drain a ton of the pent-up energy the storyline created, which is certainly going to stop me telling people to go see this movie in theatres.
Overall 8/10
This was a brilliant movie, and well worth watching. However, you’re only likely going to watch it once, which flat out means this is a rent-it movie. Secondly the major anti-climax in those last few minutes knocked a whole point off its score for me, it could have been a very climactic last minute, but it wasn’t to be. Finally, the coldness of the movie is going to kill it for a lot of people out there.
If you like Scorsese, then you’ll love this movie. If you like psychological thrillers, then you’ll love this movie. If you just want to see a good movie, then you’ll love this movie like the one-night stand it is. However, for most I’d recommend renting this on blu-ray or dvd, because unless you already think you’re going to love this movie then it isn’t worth the ticket price in the theatres, and it certainly isn’t worth the cover price of the dvd.
Judgement: Rent it.