Shutter Island, home to the criminally insane in Massachusetts, is the setting for Scorsese’s 21st feature film and fourth with DiCaprio as lead actor.

With such genre-changing films such as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull under his belt, Scorsese sets out to create a period thriller-drama that gratifies the current norm set by other psychosomatic films such as The Sixth Sense.

Set in 1954, the film opens up with two United States marshals — Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) — who are sent out to Shutter Island to investigate a disappearance of one of its most dangerous patients who seemed to “vanish” into thin air from the heavily guarded and monitored cell.

Daniels has his own agenda at Shutter Island. A Second World War veteran, he has constant migraines and pictures the atrocities that occurred in Europe as well as his wife’s tragic death — the person responsible is housed at Shutter Island.

With a storm coming and poor co-operation from the ward’s doctors (Kingsley and von Sydow), Daniels and Aule are in a race against time to find out what exactly is going on at Shutter Island before they too become victims of it.

This is where the film unfolds and the loose bolts are exposed. Although Scorsese is a master at creating suspense with his scenes, the attempt to have viewers on the edge of their seat with no big scare or twist makes the film seem like a huge buildup to nothing.

With wide panning shots, stunning effects and masterful — if not overbearing — haunting music, Scorsese has viewers expecting a large scare but there’s no release when the expected twist occurs, and the wishful thinking of viewers for another twist-in-a-twist doesn’t occur.

With a budget of $80 million, it is no surprise the camerawork and shots are beautiful and eerie, maximizing shadows, colours and lighting to create the feeling of paranoia.

Scorsese continues to show why he is one of the most technically refined directors alive, and with the help of Canadian-born music director Robbie Robertson selecting the soundtrack, Shutter Island could have been another Scorsese masterpiece — but it falls short. As well, DiCaprio delivers another strong performance yet fails to carry the film past its weak and obvious plot.

Since Paramount Pictures delayed the film from its original October 2009 release date, Shutter Island missed the cut for what could have been a few Oscar nominations — if only for its technical aspects and cinematography.

If you’re expecting a wet-your-pants thriller, Shutter Island is not the film for you. But if you’re looking to enjoy the stunning camerawork and the chops of DiCaprio as he attempts to solve the rather obvious mysteries on Shutter Island, check out Scorsese’s latest.