Instinct

I entered the theatre having no real idea what "Instinct" was about, but it seemed like a thriller to me, something similar to "The Silence of the Lambs". However, what I expected to be just another murder mystery turned out to be the powerful story of a man who had finally learnt to live.

Dr. Calder is sent to make an evaluation on Dr. Powell, an anthropologist convicted for murdering 5 men in Rwanda. However, when Dr. Powell relates his experience in the African jungle, he starts teaching Theo Calder a thing or two about "civilisation" and "humanity", thus encouraging Theo not only to learn how to live but also to challenge the rules.

The scenes with the gorillas were so realistic, that I only realised later that they were created artificially. Sometimes, I felt like I was actually watching a documentary.

The acting was superb. Anthony Hopkins was excellent as always and Cuba Gooding Jr. was just perfect as his student/friend. The supporting cast was solid as well, especially the prison inmates.

Despite Theo and Dr. Powell's daughter's confusing relationship and the highly improbable ending, "Instinct" has some beautiful movie moments. Dr. Powell's connection with the gorillas as well as his speech to Theo at the zoo are very touching. The scene at the prison where the inmates tear apart their cards, challenging the guards' authority also reminded me of the famous "O Captain, My Captain" scene in "Dead Poets' Society".

All I can say, is that "Instinct" is a rare film. One that does not need tons of action and explosions to be enjoyable but simply talks about something we can all connect too: life!

This film really surprised me. I mean REALLY. I mean I knew that Hopkins, Sutherland and Gooding Jr. were good actors and I'd heard about the film, but I was believing it would be nothing special. I WAS wrong. It had been very long, since I had last seen a film, with a message, a meaning and a higher value than entertainment, but this one is it. Maybe it's just because I study psychology, but I really enjoyed this film. It will take away your illusions. Highly recommended.

8 out of 10

Professor Ethan Powell is returned to America by Ugandan police – for years he has been living wild in the mountains and was captured after killing several men. He is brought to America for trial but first must undergo a psychological evaluation. Smelling a best seller and a career boost, Theo Caulder takes the case and enters the prison. However his journey into Powell's mind is not as easy or as straightforward an experience as he had imagined.

I can't remember last when I watched a film that tried to be so many things at the same time. Instinct is one of those films to me – it does psychological drama, thriller, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Gorilla's in the Mist. The major failing of this aim is that it doesn't manage to do very well with any of these and ends up feeling like a hotchpotch of half ideas. The plot is stretched from the very start – Powell opens up to Caulder with alarming ease (and out of nowhere) and things become increasingly half-explained from then on. The central part of the story that is meant to keep us hooked (why did Powell kill those men?) is clear from the opening 5 minutes (or even from a brief plot summary!) so that drama is all but absent.

Backing this up is the subplot that sees Powell caring for and liberating the brutalised inmates in the prison in a series of scenes that seeming arise from nothing to the extent that I was left wondering where all that came from! Likewise the interview scenes lack any real tension of their own. The main (or at least I think it was) strand of Powell living among the gorillas for years is probably the most interesting but again is a little silly. He never looks like he has slept rough or had anything other than a full nutritious diet the whole time – it certainly doesn't fit with his early description as a wild man! Having said that, the final scene in the jungle flashback is very moving and intense and is worth seeing despite the rest of the film.

Anyone who thinks that the film isn't lazily written and poorly delivered will only need to see the final shot of the film to agree that clearly something's weren't thought through and that this story needed more focus and strength. With Sir Hopkins in the lead I had hoped he would bring more to the role, and, in fairness, he tries hard, but his interview scenes are a little too hammy and his `wild man' is too civilised and polite after an initial opening. Gooding Jr's character has to cover several of the genres and he struggles as a result of this. He never really convinced me in his role and is overshadowed by even a poor Hopkins. The support cast is not great -–the prisoners are nothing more than clichés who fill out the film and do nothing to add to the credibility (or lack thereof) of the plot.

Overall this film has moments that work and moments that don't. It isn't that it is a bad film, it simply doesn't work together as one story. The sad fact is that the central story is not dramatic or detailed enough to fill the running time, so lots of clutter has been added which fills it out but also drags it down unnecessarily.

On any level, this film has to be considered one of the most incisive and painful commentaries on the human condition. Above the acting (superior performances), above the direction, above all the production values is the constant message that we as a race are marching toward an open grave pit. For all our possessions, for all our wealth, for all our so-called achievements, we have yet to learn to respect the intelligence of nature and to act accordingly. "Instinct" is in every living organism and to deny one's own instinct is to go against the natural order. The prison system in this country doesn't work because it is used to destroy man's spirit instead of supporting it. Until we learn how to live in harmony and love with all the other living organisms, we will continue to destroy what we seek to build. Don't buy those Christmas presents - support your wildlife fund. We don't need things, we need spiritual reconnection with the earth we live on. Dr. Powell, as played by Anthony Hopkins, is one of the most highly evolved beings ever seen in a movie. To the writer I am grateful for his creation, to Mr. Hopkins I am grateful for giving us a character to emulate. This movie has made a lasting impression on me. I hope it does the same for everyone who sees it. Open your heart because if you don't, then you will create your own inner prison and live a messy life that the rest of us will have to clean up.

Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins) A brilliant anthropologist, committed to an asylum for the criminally insane after committing murder.

Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.) a brilliant young psychologist, volunteers to examine Ethan to try and understand what exactly went on.

Theo's driven ambition pushes him into the psyche of a madman where he risks his own life to peel away the layers and unveil the man behind the madness.

A perfect cast and terrific story make this a very tense and thrilling ride through the mind of a madman, who may just hold the secret to remove the illusions we all have.

8/10 If you bore easily then leave well alone.