Asylum (2005)

36% of critics liked it
(86 reviews)
36% of users liked it
(20,900 ratings)

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.

Rating, Runtime: R,
Directed By: David Mackenzie
Written By: Patrick Marber
Genres: Horror, Romance, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Sep 9, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Jul 6, 2004
Studio: Paramount Classics

Critic Reviews

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?
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, 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, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Once characters' actions lose credibility, it's hard to empathize with them, no matter how well the roles are played.
David Edelstein, Slate
Asylum is all very formal, detached, and, regrettably, sane.
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.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
offers a bleak vision of the Fifties, where an outbreak of passion or an artistic impulse would be quickly subjected, like any other madness, to containment.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
A little like Jack the Ripper in outer space.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
A little like Jack the Ripper in outer space.
Rex Roberts, Film Journal International
Despite a superb cast, artful set design and seductive cinematography, Asylum remains a lovingly lensed missed opportunity.
Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
There is nothing to Stella's character -- or any of these characters, for that matter -- that you can relate to.
Ian Grey, Orlando Weekly
So obsessed with rendering Patrick McGrath's exquisitely twisted Gothic novel as a refined affair that it forgets less ambitious pursuits, like sussing out a way to keep us awake.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
Based on Pat McCabe's moody novel, Asylum has an over-the-top feverishness that suits its premise.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...oh, look at all the crazy people.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Marton Csokas ... comes across as a hybrid of Russell Crowe and Clive Owen in full-on brooding mode and has a genuine chemistry with Richardson that goes some way to explaining why she stays with him as a long as she does.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
The film wryly wonders whether the lunatics have taken over not just the asylum but the entire world as well.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A troubling psychological drama about illicit passion leading to tragedy.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lady D

A very underated film I feel, a very twisted love story of obsession and jealousy.
Walter M

[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… More
[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 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]
Anthony V

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.
Marcus W

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.… More
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. Evidently, the moral of the tale is do not shag mental patients because you will become mental and then kill yourself.
Dimitris S

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 heroes… More
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 heroes inside this immoral story,clutching them by a tinging rope ready to be cut off.Pessimistic for sure.
David S

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 that we… More
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 that 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 B

Ughh. Just a really really bad romance novel of a film.
Barry L

Truely dark film with a great tempo
paganchild1979 p

I think she got what she deserved!