Instinct (1999)

When noted anthropologist Dr. Ethan Powell, who left society to live in the jungle is imprisoned for murder, it's up to young psychiatrist Theo Caulder 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 (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is caught committing a crime and subsequently imprisoned in a Florida mental institution, where aspiring psychiatrist Dr. Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) 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. Caulder manages to reach Ethan and starts finding out why he 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

After takes with Cuba Gooding, Jr., Sir Anthony Hopkins would routinely say "Show me the money!" in reference to Cuba's character in Jerry Maguire (1996).

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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

Lynn Powell: [to Dr. Calder] You know, it's all right if you need to hold onto somebody for a minute.
[seeing he's not ready to]
Lynn Powell: It's all right if you don't.

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Connections

References Alien (1979)

User Reviews

Another great film gets Overlooked!

This is another great movie that the critics overlooked. This is getting old! Sure, all the crap is getting praised while movie of this caliber aren't even given a second thought. This was an excellent movie, I mean it was really good! This shouldn't have gotten the boot so fast. Oh well, what are ya gonna do?

Anthony Hopkins, once again, gave an outstanding performance as Ethan Powell, and especially Cuba Gooding Junior, who I thought gave his best performance in this movie.

It's a great movie, it's not really violent, there's a little to keep the viewer on his/her feet, but nothing to leave the room about. The performances by Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding, Donald Sutherland, and Maura Tierney (who I especially liked) is reason enough to watch this, but the plot is also a very good reason to check this one out. 10/10

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

Gross USA:

$34,105,207

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,105,207

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