At this point, Martin Scorsese should go ahead and have the words “America’s greatest living filmmaker” tattooed on his forehead. Look at a few Best Movies of the Decade lists for the 1970s, '80s, '90s and '00s, and you’ll note that he’s got at least one film on each of them. (Usually, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Departed, but also maybe Mean Streets or The Last Waltz.) And no one makes more interesting lesser work than Scorsese, filling his time between masterpieces with movies like After Hours and Cape Fear and Gangs of New York. Now 67, the director has made a new movie every year or two for approaching four decades, leading to this week’s release of Shutter Island. I’m happy to report that the old man has still got the magic, even if the film left me a little cold. Or was it disturbed?
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.