Asylum (2005)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

David Mackenzie

Writers (WGA):

Patrick McGrath (novel)
Patrick Marber (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Passion knows no boundaries.

Plot:

A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.

Plot Keywords:

Psychiatrist | Asylum | Inmate | London | Escape

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Natasha Richardson	...	Stella Raphael
Hugh Bonneville	...	Max Raphael
Gus Lewis	...	Charlie Raphael
Ian McKellen	...	Dr. Peter Cleave
Joss Ackland	...	Jack Straffen
Wanda Ventham	...	Bridie Straffen
Sara Thurston	...	Mrs. Rose (as Sarah Thurstan)
Alwyne Taylor	...	Monica
Maria Aitken	...	Claudia Greene
Hazel Douglas	...	Lilly
Anna Keaveney	...	Mrs. Bain
Marton Csokas	...	Edgar Stark
Robert Willox	...	John Archer
Judy Parfitt	...	Brenda Raphael
Sean Harris	...	Nick

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, some violence and brief language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Ireland:16 | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:12 | USA:R (certificate #40745) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Italy:VM14 | South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Paramount Classics

Trivia:

When Paramount Pictures secured film rights to the book in 1997, the original plan was to bring Stephen King and Jonathan Demme on board as, respectively, screenwriter and director

Quotes:

Max Raphael: I want you to understand what's going to happen next. The shock will wear off, and it will be replaced by a devastating grief. In time, you will come to terms with what you have done and you'll just be very, very sad. And that sadness will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

Like Betty Blue Without the comedy

This very dark film, set in England in the lae 1950's is definitely not for children since it contains some very disturbing scenes and events. Though most of it is set in a mental hospital and deals with mental illness, it is not one of those films like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" or even "Angel Baby" that romanticizes and sentimentalizes the subject. So don't expect that. Rather it is a more realistic examination of the fine line that sometimes separates so-called normal people from the mad. But make no mistake, there is a line.

Stella Raphael(Natasha Richardson) arrives with her husband (Hugh Bonneville) and young son Charley at the hospital where he has accepted a live-in position. There are rumors that another psychiatrist, Peter Cleve(Sir Ian McKellen)may have been in line for the same position. Stella does not fit in with the other wives. She is younger, more smartly dressed(one of her hats looks for all the world like a UFO) and less traditional in every way. And the hospital culture is clearly one that expects women to keep a low profile and not make waves. Since their posh living quarters have a full-time servant, there is not a lot for her to do, but she does take up gardening, and Charley makes friends with Edgar(Marton Csokas, a trusted "pet patient" of Dr. Cleve). Stella is also drawn to the handsome and magnetic Edgar,a sculptor, despite being warned that he is there for killing his wife violently. They dance together at a staff-patient party, and soon after have a hurried coupling in the garden shed. After that, it is furtive, animalistic sex whenever and wherever they can. One day Edgar, against Stella's better judgment comes to her in her own bedroom, where he is seen by her mother-in-law, a disdainful woman who has clearly never liked her. After Edgar steals some cash from the dresser and seizes the opportunity to escape, things rapidly deteriorate in the Raphael home. There is also another shift. Stella's husband, who at first, seemed cold and repressive, almost deserving of being cuckolded, becomes more likable, and in one of the final scenes of the movie, shows that he has probably loved Stella after all. Edgar, on the other hand, reveals himself to be jealous and unpredictable at best, and at worst, violent durng a time when he and Stella attempt a beatnik life in London with another Australian artist friend of his. And what of the inscrutable Dr. Cleve? Does he really want to help patients or is he a power-hungry manipulator? One of the reasons I compared this film to Betty Blue is aprtly because of some of the disturbingly violent acts of characters, but also because it shows that survival instincts sometimes don't have anything to do with madness or sanity. Whatdoes not kill me does not necessarily make me stronger--sometimes it just makes me crazier and more self-destructive.

Martin Csokas is an actor I had never heard of before but would certainly like to see more of him.