Instinct (1999)

When a noted anthropologist who left society to live in the jungle is imprisoned for murder, it's up to young psychiatrist to get through to him.

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writers:

Gerald Di Pego (screenplay), Gerald Di Pego (screen story),

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Ethan Powell
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Theo Caulder
Donald Sutherland	...	Ben Hillard
Maura Tierney	...	Lynn Powell
George Dzundza	...	Dr. John Murray
John Ashton	...	Guard Dacks
John Aylward	...	Warden Keefer
Thomas Q. Morris	...	Pete
Doug Spinuzza	...	Nicko
Paul Bates	...	Bluto
Rex Linn	...	Guard Alan
Rod McLachlan	...	Guard Anderson
Kurt Smildsin	...	Guard #1
Jim R. Coleman	...	Guard #2
Tracey Ellis	...	Annie

Storyline

Nearly two years after having gone amiss in Africa, renowned anthropologist Dr. Ethan Powell is caught committing a crime and subsequently imprisoned in a Florida mental institution, where aspiring psychiatrist Dr. Theo Calder takes over his important case. Dr. Powell, who has been with a group of gorillas during all that time, is not talking at all and seems to be living in a dreamworld. Very slowly, Dr. Calder manages to reach Ethan Powell and starts finding out why Ethan killed two of the poachers. Yet Theo's case is not just about why the murders have happened, but also about how Dr. Powell became the being he is in the first place. With Ethan's silence broken, Theo is introduced into a world beyond common human comprehension: The true nature of being. He learns that mankind's control of everything is a mere illusion and that the true values of existence can't be found so easily. Ethan changes Theo's view of things forever.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | anthropologist | murder | africa | poacher | 

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Taglines:

Nothing is more savage than civilization.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some intense violent behavior

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ishmael

Filming Locations:

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£147,559 (UK) (17 September 1999)

Gross:

£147,559 (UK) (17 September 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spyglass Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Ethan Powell.

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Goofs

When Theo goes to visit Lynn at her home it is late at night, yet once inside the house, daylight is coming through the windows.

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Quotes

Theo Calder: Your father maybe very ill.
Lynn Powell: Really? I thought maybe he was just in bad mood.

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Connections

References Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

User Reviews

Not an Illusion, but a Deep Psychological Thriller

Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins) A brilliant anthropologist, committed to an asylum for the criminally insane after committing murder.

Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.) a brilliant young psychologist, volunteers to examine Ethan to try and understand what exactly went on.

Theo's driven ambition pushes him into the psyche of a madman where he risks his own life to peel away the layers and unveil the man behind the madness.

A perfect cast and terrific story make this a very tense and thrilling ride through the mind of a madman, who may just hold the secret to remove the illusions we all have.

8/10 If you bore easily then leave well alone.