Cinema surveillance images are loading at the bottom of the page

Instinct

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Within the brilliant mind of primatologist Ethan Powell (Academy Award® winner Anthony Hopkins) lies an ominous secret; a deep seated mystery unsolved by his estranged family and the law enforcement officials who have tracked him down and jailed him for murders that occurred in the jungles of Rwanda. Highly educated and sophisticated, Powell's truth was derived from years of studying mountain gorillas to the point where he was living among them in the wild, and accepted as one of their own.

Now, held captive in a brutal prison for the criminally insane, Powell, who has not spoken in years, is remanded to psychiatrist Theo Caulder (Academy Award® winner Cuba Gooding Junior). Caulder's unbridled ambition drives him to risk everything and put his life on the line in order to understand the actions of this headline gripping madman. Eventually, both men embark on an extraordinary journey fuelled by their insatiable hunger for the truth, regardless of the cost.

Persons of interest

Anthony Hopkins .... Ethan Powell
Cuba Gooding Junior .... Theo Caulder
Donald Sutherland .... Ben Hillard
Maura Tierney .... Lyn Powell
George Dzundza .... Doctor John Murray
John Ashton .... Guard Dacks
John Aylward .... Warden Keefer
Daniel Quinn .... Author: Ishmael
Gerald Dipego .... Screenwriter
Jon Turteltaub .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Studios and distributors:

Buena Vista International

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Silence of the gorillas in the mist.

Or, to put it another way, a face to face battle between one man who thinks he knows everything and another who does. The former is Theo, the latter is Ethan and therein lies the tale: how does a man who believes himself to be in control discover that he's not? The quick answer to that question is "with great difficulty". The slightly longer answer is Instinct.

Both Anthony and Cuba (that's an unusual name to give someone isn't it? Mind you, I also know two Anzacs and one Mister X) push the script to its very limits. Ethan and Theo are like two trees in a storm, battering each other with their branches, waiting for the other to fall. This being a drama they are both uprooted by the wind. This being Hollywood they end up with branches entwined, holding each other in place. Fortunately, it's done well enough that cynical I and my cynical teenage flatmate somehow both managed to get some grit in our eyes at the same time.

Despite the fact that Instinct mixes genres a wee bit (murder, prison, psychiatry and ecology) its still a good film to watch. Never boring, it takes you on a ride to chaos and back, and that's got to be a good thing. There's not enough chaos in this world. watch and enjoy.

Media intelligence (DVD)

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
Languages: Czech, English, French, German, Italian
Picture: Widescreen (2.35:1)
Special features: None
Subtitles: Closed captions, Czech, Dutch, English, English captions, French, German, Italian