There are very few sure bets when it comes to the movie business. Terrible actors can pull off some amazing roles in one or two movies, terrible directors can make Academy Award winners, and great directors can have a fall from grace. Martin Scorsese is one of those sure things; take him, add one part Leo DeCaprio, a heaping amount of organized crime, occasionally apply Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci – and baby, you got yourself a couple of Golden Globes. But what happens when you change up the formula?
Being typecast is a terrible thing in most cases: Michael Cera better not start working out and lose his awkward teen look, or he is out of a job. Scorcese was king of the crime drama, and his move to more of a psychological thriller was an unexpected one; one that he hasn’t touched since Cape Fear came out in ‘91. Sure we still have Leo, but everything else is unfamiliar territory. That isn’t to say it’s a bad thing. It’s just something out of left field, especially for a mid-February film.
Looking at the movie, it seems like a movie that you’ve seen way back and just can’t remember its name. Leo is sent to investigate this Alcatraz-like mental institution on an island, where a prisoner has disappeared. Well, obviously since the place is on an island, the hospital is filled with only the craziest of patients, and the doctors are obviously part of some shady-goings on. As the trailer progresses we see that Leo starts the slide to crazy himself, and the trailer starts to reek with what I hope wasn’t the big twist of the movie. Obviously I’m not going to spoil it if you don’t plan to see the movie, but if you plan to see the movie – I’d almost recommend not watching the trailer.
But although looking quite derivative for a thriller, it is still Marty’s movie. The shots are all very well done; it weighs in at almost 2 hours 30 minutes and will be full of great character development and empathy for our troubled hero. It seems to give off the air of a Hitchcock-style suspense movie, and I think it’ll nail it pretty handily. It might not be the best movie, but it’s definitely the best movie so far this year. While I say that, I also believe that it’ll be mostly forgotten by the time September comes out, and only when it’s released on DVD will it be talked about again.
But on a different note, looking at the cast list, why was only DeCaprio’s name mentioned in the marquee? Ben Kingsley won a freaking Oscar as Ghandi, and that doesn’t get his name in the trailer? I mean, I would get it if he had a small role, but the guy is the warden! Squabbling aside, I’d recommend you go see it. It’s no Goodfellas, but it should be very entertaining. If you are reading this paper, then this movie is already playing in theatres.
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