First, I know many who read this will not take the time to research what I'm saying to see that it is true and further, many won't have the ability to see it even if they did. So, I know this review will be thumbed down by those who don't like the hard truths in life but this movie (or should I say novel by Dennis Lehane) was a nice piece of plagiarism based upon a 1920 silent film called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
The same basic plot exists in both as well as the exact same twist ending. The lead character investigates an insane asylum and tries to put clues together to figure out the mystery surrounding the place but as we near the end, we learn that the lead character isn't there to investigate anything. He's an inmate there who has invented much of what he was investigating as part of his coping mechanism.
Shutter Island would have been a good movie if it hadn't ripped off The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari so blatantly. Lehane obviously knew that the old movie was in the public domain but instead of telling the viewers that it was based on that movie, they just pass it off as his (and/or Scorseesi's idea). That, my friends, is the definition of plagiarism.
I don't recommend this whatsoever for this reason. It is a shame and Lehane should be called on it but who will do it? Too much $ to be made reheating the old dishes and calling them made from scratch.
Watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (it's on y o u t u b e if you want to compare the two and see that what I'm saying is 100% correct).
I almost never write reviews but this time, I had to.
The same basic plot exists in both as well as the exact same twist ending. The lead character investigates an insane asylum and tries to put clues together to figure out the mystery surrounding the place but as we near the end, we learn that the lead character isn't there to investigate anything. He's an inmate there who has invented much of what he was investigating as part of his coping mechanism.
Shutter Island would have been a good movie if it hadn't ripped off The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari so blatantly. Lehane obviously knew that the old movie was in the public domain but instead of telling the viewers that it was based on that movie, they just pass it off as his (and/or Scorseesi's idea). That, my friends, is the definition of plagiarism.
I don't recommend this whatsoever for this reason. It is a shame and Lehane should be called on it but who will do it? Too much $ to be made reheating the old dishes and calling them made from scratch.
Watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (it's on y o u t u b e if you want to compare the two and see that what I'm saying is 100% correct).
I almost never write reviews but this time, I had to.