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Hugh Bonneville, Ian McKellen, Natasha Richardson, Gus Lewis, Joss Ackland ... see more see more... , Wanda Ventham

A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.

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36% liked it

20,900 ratings

Critics

36% liked it

86 critics

R

Directed by: David Mackenzie

Release Date: September 9, 2005

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DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004

Stats: 276 reviews

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Ian McKellen Dr. Peter Cleave and Stella Asylum Asylum Asylum
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Flixster Reviews (276)

  • 76Majikat
    June 8, 2008
    76Majikat
    A very underated film I feel, a very twisted love story of obsession and jealousy.
  • gator681
    August 29, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Asylum" takes place in postwar England when Dr. Max Raphael(Hugh Bonneville) is just starting a new job as a deputy superintendent at a mental hospital in rural England. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Stella(Natasha Richardson), for twelve years... read more and they have a son, Charlie(Gus Lewis). While Max is tending to his job, Stella is left with little to do during the day, having little social interaction with the other wives and less interest in their charities. But her interest is piqued by one of the patients, Edgar Stark(Marton Csokas), who is under the care of Dr. Peter Cleave(Ian McKellen).(Edgar has been repairing a greenhouse on the grounds, befriending Charlie in the process.) At the annual hospital dance, Stella and Edgar dance and later make passionate love in the greenhouse...[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Asylum" is a dark and unpredictable psychological drama about the social restrictions in place on people in this time and place. The movie is aided by excellent performances, especially by Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen, playing an underwritten role with gusto. However, it seemed like there was something missing from the movie which could have shed light on some of the characters' motivations(for example, Stella has been married for twelve years but is reckless in her behavior) which at times seemed murky. [/font]
  • threefolddado
    December 14, 2009
    threefolddado
    Compulsions and sexual obsessions are explored as the wife of a top doctor gets involved with a patient at an asylum all according to the schemes of an ambitious lessor doctor. Well acted and directed with abounding interesting metaphors.
  • Lemure
    July 10, 2009
    Lemure
    Richardson's husband no longer lusts after her so she shags a mental patient, then they run away, then she goes mad (which makes no sense), then there was some other stuff and then she gets put in the asylum where McKellen falls in love with her and then she kills herself. Eviden... read moretly, the moral of the tale is do not shag mental patients because you will become mental and then kill yourself.
  • jimbotender
    September 12, 2008
    jimbotender
    Another damn disregarded director,brilliant irony and obsession.According to the laws of libido,ignorance of the sex object is transformed into hidden passion.Richardson is magnificent and another stinging performance by McKellen.Mckenzie is aggressive to the compassion of the h... read moreeroes inside this immoral story,clutching them by a tinging rope ready to be cut off.Pessimistic for sure.
  • sayers1977
    May 25, 2008
    sayers1977
    A film that you think is going to become another Lady Chatterly but actually goes a much darker route and studies the subject of obsession to the point of death. Natasha Richardson is good but she seesm to be doing an impression of her mother throughout and her coldness means tha... read moret we never warm to her character. Ian McKellen is as reliable as ever but I feel the part would have been better served with a lesser known actor as he dominates too much at the beginning when he should be observing in the background. Hugh Bonneville has nothing to do apart from shout and look annoyed which is a waste of his talents.
  • FanGirl
    August 20, 2007
    FanGirl
    Ughh. Just a really really bad romance novel of a film.
  • DrLappos
    July 12, 2007
    DrLappos
    Truely dark film with a great tempo
  • PC79
    May 9, 2007
    PC79
    I think she got what she deserved!
  • jusstpete
    May 13, 2012
    jusstpete
    Not a bad move, a little slow but for a woman in her 40's Natasha Richardson's beauty is memorizing and reason enough to watch the movie.

View All Asylum Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
September 16, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Asylum had promise. But it's bad enough to make one wonder just who had the loose screws -- the characters, or the people who filmed them? Full Review

Tom Long
September 16, 2005
Tom Long, Detroit News

Patrick McGrath's screenplay, based on his novel, has moments big and small, delivered in appropriate dollops of awfulness.

Terry Lawson
September 16, 2005
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

It's a movie you fall for or you don't, and like Stella, I am not ashamed I did.

Jeff Strickler
September 15, 2005
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Once characters' actions lose credibility, it's hard to empathize with them, no matter how well the roles are played. Full Review

David Edelstein
August 29, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Asylum is all very formal, detached, and, regrettably, sane. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
August 19, 2005
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

There's nothing remotely seething -- or sympathetic or provocative -- about this overstuffed movie, which bears the unmistakable signs of a film too in love with its own fetishistic production values. Full Review

Jonathan Curiel
August 19, 2005
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle

Richardson commands every scene she's in. Full Review

Ty Burr
August 19, 2005
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

The morbid interiority of McGrath's novel has been turned into distressed gloss, and while it's awfully nice to look at, it never once comes close to the dangerous emotions of the real thing. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
August 19, 2005
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Richardson is the reason to see Asylum. A lot of what happens doesn't really make sense, yet her intensity hooks us. Full Review

Philip Wuntch
August 18, 2005
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News

Asylum is a semi-watchable, lurid melodrama. But it could have been a dynamic, probing psycho-drama. Full Review

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Asylum Trivia

  • In what movie, did Jack Nicholson enter an insane asylum?  Answer »
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  • In what movie does Michael Myers escape from an insane asylum and return home to kill his sister? (Note: if you can't get this one, stop playing the game)  Answer »
  • In Silence of the Lambs, what is the name of the orderly that works at the asylum where Hannibal Lector lives?  Answer »
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