- Director:
Jon Turteltaub - AMG Rating:
- Genre: Thriller
- Movie Type: Psychological Thriller
- Themes: Dropping Out, Monkeys, Doctors and Patients
- Main Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Donald Sutherland, Maura Tierney, George Dzundza
- Release Year: 1999
- Country: US
- Run Time: 123 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A man who leaves humanity behind to live with animals returns to society under unpleasant circumstances, but with valuable lessons about human and animal relationships. Anthony Hopkins stars as Ethan Powell, a noted anthropologist studying the behavior of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The longer Powell follows the apes, the more he comes to admire their simple but peaceful society. He begins to spend most of his time with the apes until one day he ventures into the jungle and doesn't return. Powell throws in his lot with the gorillas and lives among them as primitive man once lived in the wild with animals. However, two years later, poachers kill several of the gorillas, and Powell flies into a murderous rage, killing two of the men who attacked his friends. Extradited to the United States, Powell is sent to a grim maximum-security prison in Florida, where he will be held while awaiting trail. A psychological evaluation must be performed on Powell, and the task falls to Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.), an ambitious young psychiatrist who sees this as a case with the potential to make him famous. However, since Powell initially won't speak to anyone, getting through to him will be a challenge, and Powell's daughter Lyn (Maura Tierney) has little insight on the father she barely knew. As Caulder slowly builds a rapport with Powell, he comes to realize what Powell has learned from his experience with the gorillas -- and how much Powell can teach him about living with others. Loosely adapted from the novel Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, Instinct also features supporting performances from Donald Sutherland and George Dzundza. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie GuideReview
Instinct is a surprisingly tame psychological thriller that comes to life thanks to the superb talents of Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr.. While Instinct explores some interesting concepts and ideas, it still suffers from a bland and scattered story line that is never quite sure what type of movie it wants to be. Director Jon Turteltaub and screenwriter Gerald DiPego inundate the sluggish and long-winded narrative with excess subplots about other inmates and pointless prison administrators. Amazingly, the film's two stars are able to break free from the banal material, and the narrative assumes real life when Hopkins and Gooding engage in a series of the turbulent talk sessions. Gooding's self-control and sincerity is the perfect match for Hopkins and his rather over-the-top, mangy madman. They are also flanked by a talented supporting cast -- Donald Sutherland, Maura Tierney and George Dzundza all give solid performances. Most audiences may assume Instinct is another big-studio variation of The Silence of the Lambs, allowing Anthony Hopkins to revisit a psychotic Hannibal-esque role. Unfortunately, this mild movie isn't nearly as compelling and suspenseful as some of Hopkins' previous thrillers.~ Adam Goldberg, All Movie Guide
Cast
- Anthony Hopkins - Dr. Ethan Powell
- Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Dr. Theo Caulder
- Donald Sutherland - Ben Hillard
- Maura Tierney - Lyn Powell
- George Dzundza - Dr. John Murray
