Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo (his new partner) portraying the agents arrive and immediately seem to face conspiracy and cover-up as they begin to investigate how the female inmate escaped. There are riddles, red herrings, and the weird dreams and flashbacks that Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio’s character) experiences, with we the viewers privy to these. Seems Teddy was in World War II and present as a military man at the liberation of the Dachau infamous death camp. This has left an indelible impression upon his mind. His dead wife (Michelle Williams) also seems to visit him as well.
 

 All sorts of twists and turns take place that simply have you baffled until the very end when a very major and logical surprise astounds you. But along the way, there are many suspenseful moments, especially when a fierce storm hits the facility knocking out electricity with the dangerous inmates free to roam about.

 Our “good Dr. Cawley” has always endeavored to do what he could to save the inmates from the pre-frontal lobotomy of the day by trying to have them accept reality and realize what they’ve done, cope with it, and live out a respectable life in captivity. But Teddy’s encounters on the island make him believe that the Nazi experimentation is continuing in this place with the blessing of our government, and using the inmates to create robotic-type beings who will be sent to disrupt any enemy force without thought or regret. A good case is certainly presented for this theory, what with the strange goings-on.
 What is truly challenging at the film’s onset is how the missing inmate managed to get out of her cell, pass the people there, and barefoot, survive the rough and unforgiving terrain. Nothing is ever quite what it seems with suspicions and the “trust no one” thinking arising at every turn. Mysteries pile one upon another with many secret places uncovered and the mind control factor played as a card from time to time. Teddy at one point realizes that there is the distinct possibility that he may never leave this island and facility alive.

 Director Martin Scorsese has given us a real mind-boggler, well done, and having the film move along at just the right pace. The cast does well in showing how all may not seem as it appears. It’s a worthwhile motion picture with that aforementioned socko ending that you really never suspect . . . and don’t let anyone tell you about the film and ruin it for you. From the trailers on TV, I expected a horror film with slasher endeavors. Far be it from that. What’s up there on screen is cinematically delicious. Bravo once again to Martin Scorsese for his filmmaking expertise!
 

As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA-and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. 

 Dominic Chianese and Dick Latessa are wonderful to watch as a kind of “odd couple.” They do their best to fulfill the void in their lives of loneliness and rather meaningless existence with the things each does for the other. Yes, this is a true buddy film.
 Lenny Sugerman (the Chianese character) hits a real downer when his nephew Zach Sugarman (Josh Hamilton), a stock broker, tells him he is no longer monetarily solvent and the things he invested in have bottomed out. 

 Meanwhile, Lenny’s buddy, Ruben Liebner (the character Latessa plays) wants to get out of the city that has changed so that he doesn’t recognize it anymore. He even contemplates leaving his wife. He will do anything for Lenny and is someone everyone should have as a devoted friend.
 This character driven movie well documents the sadness of growing old  when one has not done that much in life and has nothing going to keep the mind active and those juices flowing day to day. This is a true tale of friendship, love, and the city. It shows how all of those depicted in the film (all actors mostly in their 70s) convey to us the feeling of being young at heart and alive.

 The film was shot in New York City rather than another Canadian city as a stand-in. An independent endeavor, “THE LAST NEW YORKER” has a great deal going for it and is wonderful to watch. We have real people in real situations trying to continue to make a go of it. The film is scheduled for a short run. Try to see it as  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.