Yes, spoilers ahead, you are right if you think Teddy is the 67th patient. The question is what sort of patient is he, what really happened to his wife (hauntingly played by Michelle Williams)? Did she die in a fire or is she someone else? Is Teddy really a federal marshal? Is the mental hospital a place of entrapment and do they perform experimental surgeries or practice lobotomies?
The fact is that Scorsese places us right inside Teddy's mind, and we see his world as only Scorsese knows how. There are flashbacks to WW2, especially the death camps, to his home life in possibly happier times, and so on. But do we trust what Teddy sees? Is there really a woman in the caves hiding out from the doctors who used to be one? Is he seeing hallucinations or only what he wants to see? Water plays a big part in "Shutter Island," not to mention torrential storms. It is the kind of place that one can imagine having seen in black-and-white in the days of Universal horror flicks.
The cast is impeccable, including Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow as rigid doctors who may or may not be threatening. There is one frightening bit of business from Ted Levine as the warden who delivers a speech on violence that is earth-shattering. DiCaprio proves his worth with a role that requires more disciplined rage than anything he has done before, including Scorsese's "The Departed."
"Shutter Island" is more ominous yet less tinged with humor than Dennis Lehane's book. No matter - this psychological thriller is tough, demanding, extremely dark and unsettling. Yeah, there is a twist but it is more about the bulk of the narrative in getting there that matters. And then it throws in an epilogue that will leave you haunted and tormented.
