Instinct (1999)

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

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writers:

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

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland

1 win & 2 nominations.

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:

anthropologist | psychiatrist | murder | africa | poacher | 

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Taglines:

One man's mind is another man's mystery.

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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:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,390,387, 6 June 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$34,098,563, 29 August 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spyglass Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Ethan Powell.

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Goofs

Ethan tells Theo he will call him 'Tabibu Joua', which is Swaheli, and will remind Ethan of his home in Africa. Swaheli is an artificial language spoken along the East coast, and inland in East Africa. The mountain gorillas, however, live in Central and Western Africa, where Swaheli is not spoken...

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Quotes

Theo Calder: I'm Dr. Calder. You've been charged with one count of murder and found incompetent to stand trial.
Pete: She had a demon in her for a while. My neighbour, Mrs. Karsh.
Theo Calder: Mm-hmm.
Pete: It would come and go. Nobody saw it... except me.
Theo Calder: What did it look like, the demon?
Pete: Um... Did you ever see "Alien" with Sigourney Weaver?
Theo Calder: It looked like a giant insect?
Pete: No. It looked like Sigourney Weaver.

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Connections

References Alien (1979)

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.