INSTINCT A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
Anthony Hopkins, who appears born to play an English butler as he did in THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, has a phenomenal acting range with one of his most famous roles as the psychotic killer, Hannibal Lecter.
Hopkins gets to chew up the scenery again as a killer in INSTINCT, a strange movie that blends elements of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST and GORILLAS IN THE MIST.
Playing opposite Anthony Hopkins is another Academy Award winner, Cuba Gooding Jr. The two of them match wits in an acting battle that's much more interesting than the derivative material they have to work with. As directed by Jon Turteltaub (3 NINJAS), written by Gerald Di Pego, and "inspired by" Daniel Quinn's novel "Ishmael," the story is at once mysterious and strangely familiar. The story's big mystery is so obvious that it isn't clear why the people in the movie don't solve it immediately without any further investigation.
Anthropologist Dr. Ethan Powell (Hopkins) is returned to the United States after being convicted for using a club to kill some Rwandan game wardens. At the time he had been spending the last two years living as an animal among the gorillas. Dr. Powell says that he was actually living as the cave men would have done, among the apes, not as an ape.
Dr. Theo Caulder (Gooding), an up-and-coming psychiatrist, lands the plum assignment of performing the psychiatric evaluation of Dr. Powell, with the big open question being why he turned violent. Dr. Powell's violence continues into the present as he attacks anyone who threatens him.
Most of the movie consists of the long psychiatric examinations of Dr. Powell by Dr. Caulder. With frequent flashbacks, Dr. Powell tells his story of life among the gorillas.
The distracting and hackneyed side plot concerns the prison in which Dr. Powell is housed. Run by cliched, sadistic guards, the prison is lifted straight out of a hundred other movies. This part of the story is an embarrassment next to the fine acting of the main story. Sadly, this brutal, overcrowded prison theme is allocated large amounts of screen time. And the better part of the story is allowed to drag more times than you can count. With lesser actors in the lead, one suspects the movie might have been unwatchably bad.
Some movies grow on you after you've seen them. INSTINCT has just the opposite effect. The more you think about the material, the more it seems like such a retread of so many other films. Absent the two superlative performances, there is nothing to recommend the picture.
INSTINCT runs too long at 2:06. It is rated R for strong violence and some profanity and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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