Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have made several movies together and while Shutter Island may not be considered the best Scorsese movie or the best Leonardo DiCaprio movie, it is without a doubt, the most unusual in their history of collaboration and perhaps the most worthy of discussion. It’s a strange noir film that likely needs to be seen more than once in order to fully appreciate it. It’s like a few other projects in that way, but Leonardo DiCaprio thinks it has something in common with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And honestly, he’s not wrong.Â
Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese recently came together to discuss their movies for Letterboxd, and while the entire conversation is worth watching for any movie fan, perhaps the most interesting part came when the two discussed Shutter Island. Scorsese talked about the noir detective movies that inspired DiCaprio’s character. DiCaprio talked about the way that, in some ways, pretending to be one of the characters from those movies is exactly what his character is doing. The actor said…
Shutter Island’s ending is absolutely wild, and while I can be somewhat vague about it for anybody who hasn’t seen the film, the movie does make it clear early on that things are not entirely as they seem and that something strange is going on. This is where DiCaprio compares his character to Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, as both men are the central figure in a bizarre situation that exists entirely for them. DiCaprio explained…Â
There are certainly some differences between the two characters. Willy Wonka is fully in control of his contrived situation, whereas DiCaprio’s Teddy is not in control, at least not willingly. But it’s certainly true that everything revolves around them. Watching both movies a second time makes it clearer just what is really going on. You see better on a rewatch just what is really going on.Â
And of course, both movies are a bit fantastical. There’s an unreality to them both, which is part of what keeps the audience unclear on just what’s going on and what the motivations are. Scorsese said…
I’m not sure that Shutter Island and WIlly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory would work as a double feature, but there is a running theme. DiCaprio and Socrsese’s latest feature, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to Apple TV+ subscribers. DiCaprio and Scorsese don’t have a project together on the 2024 movie schedule, but it’s a safe bet we’ll see them working together again down the road. Â