Wasting no time starting the suspense, director Martin Scorsese teams up once again with Leonardo DiCaprio in his most recent, nail-biting thriller. DiCaprio plays the intense deputy marshal, Teddy Daniels, who first comes to the island in 1954 with his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) in search of a missing patient from the local psych ward. From the opening scene with the looming "Skull Island-like" approach and DiCaprio's head in a toilet, you know you're in for a ride.

The ominous score plays out perfectly as we learn that the missing patient/prisoner is a mother of three who drowned her kids and has mysteriously disappeared from her cell. Dr. Cawley (a magnificently eerie Ben Kingsley) and the ever-analyzing psychiatrist (uber-villain Max Von Sydow) don't seem to want to help with the investigation in any way and bigger secrets seem to be at work. Throw in afew creepy flashbacks of Daniels' murdered wife, memories of his helping to liberate prisoners at Dachua Concentration Camp, and a few leisurely evening strolls down the halls of a mental hospital filled with the criminally insane by match light, and you'll start delving into a bit of the macabre insanity, too.

Somewhere between What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Catch Me If You Can, DiCaprio really grew up and became a serious actor. All throughout the film, you can't keep your eyes off his every move, and the intensity in his eyes seems to drive him like a man possessed. Altogether, it's an exquisitely acted piece and doesn't let up until the twist-laden ending. Grotesque at times and hard to watch, it still begs the viewer to continue on further down the rabbit hole hoping for resolution.

Ideas are present which question whether God is one of either violence or of moral order, the treatment of mental patients as human beings versus lab rats, and the intricacies of the human brain. One scene debates whether the cause of pain actually originates in the flesh that is afflicted or can all be traced back to the mind. We are so complexly created that when you start to unwind the cords that keep us together, it is sometimes scary to see what the effects of even small changes can be.

The mind is sophisticated, and our defense mechanisms and ability to push through difficult times can truly be a gift. This psychological thriller delves deep, and Scorsese does an excellent job of not letting you off his island until he's completely done with you. Once finished, you'll have to replay it to catch every little detail.