Asylum (2005)

This is a horror film masquerading as an emotional drama. Why bother? The story is so disturbing, so nasty, so tasteless, so pointless. It is an exercise in 'provocation' and exploitation. Do we really want to see the late and lamented Natasha Richardson brilliantly going to pieces? Do we really want to see Ian McKellen being brilliantly devious, creepy, and demented? Do we really want to see Marton Csokas being brilliantly passionate, creepy, and demented? Do we want to see any of these things? Do we want to see people reduced to emotional and psychological rubble? Children drowning? Suicide? Marriage wrecked? Despair? Hopelessness? Do we want to be provided with a ready-made reason why we should all go jump off a high building and decide that there is no point in living? If the answer is yes, then this film is for you. Anyone who thinks life is tough enough already should give it a miss.

I shall use only mild spoilers because to reveal too much would ruin the movie for you. For our delightful leading lady this must have been a stretch in choosing to play this part. Actresses and actors like to play the winner, the hero/heroine because it is more rewarding. But in this role our lovely Natasha plays a woman mysteriously, obsessively drawn to a violent, psychotic man in ways that are a bit hard to understand. (He is a patient at an asylum) She plays the role most convincingly. At first she is shocked to learn she is mesmerized by him, and then later finds herself seeking him out. By the intense expressions on the psychotic mans face we fear, in the back of our mind, this will end badly. But close to the end everything seems to have been stabilized and all our characters are under control and coping with what happened. The ending takes a most unexpected turn, at least for me, and leaves the viewer thinking, "I can't believe it turned out this way." Not a feel good ending but nonetheless it sends a powerful message that we must always guard our emotions lest they control or even consume us.Excellent, believable acting by all and really a very well done movie. But please don't rent this for a romantic evening. It won't play out well. I doubt YOU will have a happy ending.

In the 50's, the psychiatrist Max Raphael (Hugh Bonneville) is hired to work as superintendent of an asylum in the outskirts of London, and he moves with his wife Stella Raphael (Natasha Richardson) and their son Charlie (Gus Lewis). Stella has a passionless marriage and is ignored by Max; her boredom changes when her son befriends the handsome inmate Edgar Stark (Marton Csokas), an sculptor that in a crisis of jealousy had killed and disfigured his wife, and that is treated by Dr. Peter Cleave (Ian McKellen), an ambitious psychiatrist that aspired Max's position. During the afternoons, Stella has a hot adulterous affair with Edgar until the day he escapes and their affair is discovered. Stella has to take a decision between her family and her wild passion for Edgar."Asylum" is a sort of combination of "Madame Bovary" with "La Ragazza di Trieste", telling the wild and tragic passion of an ignored and bored woman and her descent into a hell life with a madman. The narrative is sexually tense, and the still sexy Natasha Richardson has a fantastic performance in the role of a woman that becomes obsessed by her destructive desire. Her chemistry with Marton Csokas is amazing, combining tension, madness and eroticism in a stylish cinematography. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Paixão Sem Limites" ("Passion Without Limits")

There was so much promise in this story, but it just wasn't there. Maybe, if they had beefed up Sir Ian's role or had a husband that drew more sympathy, it could have been a great film.As it was, it was just passable, and not worthy of a watch recommendation, even with Sir Ian in the cast. He just seemed to phone in his role. That was a shame because he could have been written as more mischievous and allowed to stretch to the capability we know he has.Except for the utterly forgettable Maid in Manhattan, this is the first time I have seen Natasha Richardson. She did a good job in the role of a neglected housewife and pawn of Sir Ian.This was also the first film of director David Mackenzie's that I have seen. he appears to have some promise, but he just didn't show it here.