by Eileen Curran
WBZ-TV
February 23, 2010
MEDFIELD (WBZ) ― The made in Massachusetts film, Shutter Island, was number one at the box office this weekend, taking in more than $40 million.
This is good news, not only for director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio, but also for the folks in Medfield.
A large portion of the movie was shot in town on the grounds of Medfield State Hospital.
Keith Curbow, 18, couldn’t wait to see the film made in his hometown. He saw it on opening day.
“You can recognize a lot of stuff,” he said. “And that’s really cool.”
The movie’s cast and crew spent two months filming in Medfield.
The hospital sits on 500 acres, so the set was pretty isolated from the public.
Many townspeople are excited to see the movie, so they can finally see what was actually filmed.
Lisa Thompson of Medfield saw the film opening weekend.
“I thought it was excellent,” she said.
Thompson went to see Shutter Island for the story and the stars, but admits she was also looking for familiar sights.
“Yeah, we were,” she said.
Curbow, who admits he has snuck onto the grounds of the closed hospital in the past, wanted to see what it looked like on film.
“I was curious to know which parts of the hospital they were going to use.”
Curbow works at the Blue Moon Bagel Café, which supplied baked goods to the movie’s cast and crew.
Owner Daniel Freeman hasn’t seen the film yet, but he will soon.
Does he hope to see some of his baked goods in the movie?
“Gee, I don’t know,” he said. “I hope so, that would be nice.”
The movie certainly has created a buzz in town, as well as a sense of pride.
“I think we do,” said Medfield Board of Selectman chair, Ann Thompson.
“I can’t think of too many people in Medfield who are not going to go to this movie.”
But, there is one little thing that is not sitting well with the town.
Apparently, there’s no mention of Medfield in the closing credits. This has Mike Sullivan the Town Administrator none too happy.
“That’s probably just as well,” he said.
“They might have mistaken it and gave credit to Medford instead of Medfield anyways.”
There’s no mistaking the stars of this film, including its location.