Shutter Island (2010) was made to be watched twice

I just re-watched this Scorsese movie after seeing it a few years ago. I remembered really enjoying it, but because I remembered the twist, I didn’t think it would be quite the same this time around, but I have to say it’s a whole new experience, as though the intention was to view this movie twice. And the second viewing is possibly better.

What you don’t appreciate the first time around is the fact that all the side characters - particular the fantastic Ben Kingsley - are playing 2 roles, and the performance you see depends on whether it is your first or second viewing. And they pull it off perfectly.

On first viewing, the side-glances and odd remarks when Ted (Leonardo Di Caprio) questions the conspiracy on the island, give you the feeling of something fishy going on, that there may be truth to the conspiracy. The characters he meets have a nuanced way of talking to him, and you want to believe he’s on to something, that these are bad guys and only this determined marshal can figure it out. But then the twist hits and you learn that [SPOILER] it was all an elaborate fiction he had created as part of his delusions, and everyone on the island was allowing him to ‘live through’ the fantasy in the hopes that he comes out the other side realising the unreality of it all.

At first you think, huh, neat twist, and you’re pretty sure you saw it coming. But did you, really?

The second viewing is where the magic is. You know the deal, you know everyone is playing a part and they all have to go along with it. In a sense this viewing is more fantastical, and requires you suspend your disbelief more than the first viewing. But the second viewing is when you recognise how top tier the performances were from side characters like Kingsley and Ruffalo. Every side glance and odd remark is seen in a whole new light. It’s no longer adding to the viewers sense of unease, it’s a knowing nod to the viewer that they’re playing along, and it gives you a whole new appreciation for Di Caprio’s character, and how utterly hopeless his entire arc is over the movie.

I just wondered if anyone else saw this movie in the same way. It could easily be disregarded as a fairly run of the mill psychological thriller with a predictable twist, and that’s mostly true, but I was struck by how captivating all the performances were the second time round, and how everyone is essentially, from the viewers perspective, playing 2 roles at the same time, depending on if you know the twist.

Are there any other movies that are better the second time around, simply because you know the twist? Does knowing the twist in advance change how the story plays out to you?

Submitted March 31, 2021 at 04:13AM by the_spongmonkey https://ift.tt/3wbQ8aI