Film Reviews

Asylum

• Rating:
• Director: David Mackenzie
• Starring: Hugh Bonneville
• Details: UK / Ireland / 99 mins (15s).

When her husband Max (Bonneville) takes a position as psychiatrist in a mental institution on the outskirts of London, Stella (Richardson) finds herself drawn into an illicit affair with one of the inmates - failed artist Edgar (Csokas), a man incarcerated for murdering and mutilating his wife in a frenzied attack. Will Stella leave her pedestrian life with Max for a rollercoaster ride with Edgar? And if so, what then for her relationship with her son Charlie (Gus Lewis)? For a story of passion and wild abandonment, Asylum is a curiously - albeit intentionally - bloodless tale: it's not one to love, although there is quite a lot to admire. The 1950's period detail is well observed, the performances are strong - particularly those of Richardson, McKellen and young Gus Lewis - and David Mackenzie (Young Adam) directs with one eye on Patrick McGrath's novel, from which Patrick Marber (Closer) adapted his script. The technically-minded will enjoy the superb editing of Colin Monie and Steven Weisberg, which helps to quickly construct a believable narrative by rapidly shuttling through a number of emotionally dense scenes - although the process then fails the story, as we get very little sense of an emotional connection between Stella and Edgar, and their relationship becomes a series of urgent couplings between an urban Lady Chatterley and her bohemian lover. The latter stages lose focus and credibility, as the story mutates into something of a histrionic melodrama, but until then Asylum is well worth your time and attention.

Review by Declan Burke