I watched Shutter Island, after reading the book. Aside from maybe two missing lines I would have loved to have heard in the film, it was amazing. Let's dive in.
First of all, I'd like to address the film vs movie issue. A film and book are not the same medium and must be converted with adjustments to make them work. Not everyone will sit for four hours and see a completely perfect book to film conversion. Audiences have an attention span, especially these days. As long as the essence and plot points of the film are all in there, you did great. Exact dialogue can get you bonus points, which this film has.
The only difference between this and the book is literally the last line of the film, where instead of just rapidly regressing alone, he actually decides to choose the lobotomy and "die a hero" vs "living as a monster". The accuracy on dialogue is amazing. 10 out of 10. The only thing they didn't put in was the most offensive part of the warden's messed up dialogue, Maggie saying "you've been here and you'll stay here" and "that's how I want to remember you, laughing", and more of the tag-you're-it guy's manic dialogue that I found hilarious. They do streamline the story and make some of the plot clues a little more obvious, which was a good decision on their part. The pacing was perfect, as one of my friends commented. They also skip some of the patient interviews that didn't forward the story.
The Review
Let's start with the dialogue. To keep this much exact dialogue in a film is Maltese Falcon level of awesome (Maltese Falcon is a noir film that was almost word-for-word minus one character quirk that couldn't pass the 1930/1940 standard). The scriptwriter and actors probably read the book. I can tell because the acting is not only 10 out of 10, but they took on the mannerisms of the characters from the book. For example, Teddy notes that the guards all fear him, but says it is because he's a marshal, which isn't actually the reason. Also, around Sheehan people look to him for answers even as he's "chuck".
Unique details about the plot and acting also attest to the fact that this film should have won something. Teddy subtly getting more dangerous as the withdrawal takes effect proves to the audience he is violent. It begins with antagonizing another patient with words and pencil scratching, then gets more physical. A few patients do try to warn him, including a woman writing "run" on his notes after ensuring that Sheehan gets up to get a glass of water. She is later watched all through the film. The woman putting a finger to her lips in the yard is Maggie, but the film doesn't include her iconic lines. That is my only complaint.
The setting was perfect. They found the essence of the film and bottled it, pacing it so they could keep the film around 2 hours, but still give you all the information. That deserves a round of applause. Screenwriting like this doesn't happen every day and we need to acknowledge that. Shutter Island had all (but one line) of the iconic important scenes. This was a faithful, amazing adaptation of a book that I loved. 10 out of 10. Only thing I missed was "you've been here and you'll stay here" from Maggie.
If you read the book, you'll note the warden was cut off before his racist rants and those didn't show up in the film. I think that was for the best, given the audience. The N word is used in the book, just note that before you read it. It was set in the 50s. We also didn't get the foreword intro of the book. That was totally fine. Some encounters were abbreviated, like Peter, who was also as weird and messed up as the warden but in different ways. They made Laeddis a little clearer, mostly because the book shoves the name in mid-book and makes you ask "why are you asking about this guy and where did that come from?" Not going to lie, the movie wove Laeddis in a little nicer than the book.
Conclusion
It was a 10 star movie of a five star book, which means both were amazing. DiCaprio nailed Teddy as a role and Mark Ruffalo was a surprise, but also did amazing. I don't blame them for cutting some of the dreams that had sexual context. They took the most telling dreams and worked them in perfectly. A great movie. Go read the book and watch the film. Unlike other film adaptations, this one hit the nail on the head.
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Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship?
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