Instinct (1999)

I read the book Ishnmael, upon which the film is based so was curious to see Instinct. The book had a very profound and thought provoking message about our place as humans in this world. Anthony Hopkins is very type cast- his role resembling Lecter in Silence of the Lambs and others he's been in. The 'baddie' prison staff were almost comically bad and the Assessor so very good and nice. I only watched the first half but what with the story build up and then the doe eyed looks pass between daughter and Assessor I could foresee the outcome. The film trivialized a serious message. A difficult task which fails.

Completely underrated! I highly recommend this Film. Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. provide excellent performances. "Instinct" is a brilliant drama with emotional depth and an important Message, This Movie is one of my favorite films of all time and it really touched My Soul. A forceful must-see-Movie, Don't miss it! 10/10

I think the reason why there are so few who have given credit for this movie is that there are so few who have reached that level of self-awareness that this film requires to understand.This movie is very, very psychological. There are so many thoughtful, playful and subtle psychological hints, situations, story lines, and gestures that piece together the whole story that if you are not interested in behavior, or some form of deeper exchange in a movie-experience, then this is NOT a movie for you.However, for people who understand psychology, behavior, and norms, who are interested in social experiments, and who are interested in questioning human moralities, this film will simply be a masterpiece. This is one of the best movies I know. SEE IT! (Apologize for any grammatical errors, English is not my native language.)

Ethan Powell (Antony Hopkins) is deported back to a US mental facility after his scientific work in Africa ends in a murder conviction. There he builds a wall of silence that needs to be broken down by new-boy shrink Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr).The central problem with worthy topics is that, while I salute their seriousness and gravity, that doesn't mean I automatically enjoy any product that wants to wrap itself in it. This film (a why-dun-nit) takes a small age to say anything or go anywhere and even when it does it is clearly a hodgepodge of other films best bits.(Let us not bother mentioning them again!)Hopkins is a fine actor and wonderfully intense - but wasted in this chewing-the-curtains epic. Yes, the prison system is wrong, but what should a prison for the criminal mentally-unstable look like? The Ritz? Equally here in the affluent West it is easy to sit back and condemn those living an uneducated hand-to-mouth existence in some jungle clearing.(Doesn't make them right though!) To be frank I was totally bored before the movie had reached the half way point and - by which point it had said everything it had to say and show - and I was hoping for the thing to finish as quickly as possible.Hollywood is part of most of the problems of this world (grab it, take it, snort it, ignore the safety of bystanders, solve-it -by-violence night-after-night) so when it gets preachy my ears tend to close. For the record the message is right - the medium is wrong. Thrillers have to thrill - this doesn't.