Gothika (2003)

A repressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the asylum where she worked, with no memory of why she is there or what she has done.

Director:

Mathieu Kassovitz

Writer:

Sebastian Gutierrez

Stars:

Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr.

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Halle Berry	...	Miranda Grey
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Pete Graham
Charles S. Dutton	...	Dr. Douglas Grey
John Carroll Lynch	...	Sheriff Ryan
Bernard Hill	...	Phil Parsons
Penélope Cruz	...	Chloe Sava
Dorian Harewood	...	Teddy Howard
Bronwen Mantel	...	Irene
Kathleen Mackey	...	Rachel Parsons
Matthew G. Taylor	...	Turlington
Michel Perron	...	Joe
Andrea Sheldon	...	Tracey Seavers
Anana Rydvald	...	Glass Cell Nurse
Laura Mitchell	...	Inmate
Amy Sloan	...	Inmate

Storyline

Dr. Miranda Grey is a psychiatrist who works in a penitentiary, in the mental institution sector. She is married with Dr. Douglas Grey, the chief of department where Dr. Pete Graham also works. Chloe Sava, a patient of Dr. Miranda formerly abused by her stepfather, claims that she is frequently raped by the devil in her cell. After leaving the asylum in a stormy night, Dr. Miranda has a car accident, and when she wakes up, she is an inmate of the institution, being accused of an horrible crime and having no memory of the incident.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | serial rape | mental hospital | murder of husband | prison | 

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Taglines:

Dr. Miranda Grey Is An Expert At Knowing What Is Rational, What Is Logical, What Is Sane... Until The Day She Woke Up On The Other Side.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, brief language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [France] WB [United States]

Country:

USA France Canada Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gotika

Filming Locations:

Oka, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,288,438, 23 November 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$59,694,580

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$81,896,744

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Halle Berry and Robert Downey, Jr. both star in superhero film adaptations, specifically Marvel comics properties. Halle Berry in the X-Men franchise as Ororo Monroe, a.k.a. Storm, and Robert Downey, Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. Halle Berry also starred in Catwoman (2004), loosely based on the DC Comics character.

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Goofs

The length of Miranda's hair changes too much for the three week time span of the main plot in the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chloe: He came back again last night and tore me like paper. He opened me like a flower of pain, and it felt good. He sank into me and set me on fire, like he always does. Made me burn from the inside out.
Miranda: How did you know it was the devil?

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Connections

Spoofed in Scary Movie 3 (2003)

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Soundtracks

Reach Out I'll Be There
(uncredited)
Written by Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland Jr.)
Performed by The Four Tops
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Feel the scare, don't look for logic

'Gothika' may be looked at as an exercise in style. The plot is about a psychologist in a women's prison who wakes up one day to find herself on the other side of the bars, accused of having murdered her husband. She needs to prove her innocence, but the film is not what you expect. There will be not too much logic in what follows, and the borders between reality and halucination seem to be crossed by the director and script writer, not only by the characters.

What saves the film is the excellent acting of Halle Berry, Penelope, Cruz, Robert Downey Jr., and all the rest of the cast, the haunting setting, and the way the atmosphere is being build. The institution looks like some gothic building from outside, with blue lighted corridors inside creating an appropriate setting for the mood of the characters. Rain seems to poor almost permanently, kind of reflecting the fluid state of mind of the characters.

This film will not be easy to forget for me. Despite its ridiculous script and the conventional way the plot is being solved, the quality of the cinema is above average. Halle Berry is fantastic, and may have bought back her acting in a James Bond movie. Uneven but still memorable. 7/10 on my personal scale.