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Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The first must-see film of the year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

INSTINCT is an odd little follow-up to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, featuring Anthony Hopkins in a similarly psychotic turn as an anthropologist whose time living with gorillas in Africa has turned him feral. He now resides in prison, where Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a psychiatrist taking over his case. What follows is a film which mixes psychological thrills and spills with standard prison genre elements, including violent inmates and sadistic guards. Hopkins and Gooding Jr. are both good enough to keep you engaged by this film despite the slightly slow pace and over-familiarity of the plot elements. In the end, it's another interesting treatise on the human condition.

Just watched this based on the reasonable rating here. I could only stand 35 minutes(and that was hard going) up to then I could see it was a low budget knock off of Cool Hand Luke, complete with sadistic warder and Southern drawl governor. Nothing was credible. Cuba Gooding was just pathetic as a supposed shrink, mouthing infantile dialogue. Hopkins was good but he always is; just a shame he'll appear in just about anything. A waste of 35 minutes and a reminder that many people who post here are not exactly knowledgeable about film. Read the bad reviews first is a good guide.

Anthropologist Dr. Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins) is released from an African prison by the State Department. He had killed 2 Rwandan park rangers with a wooden club after living with the mountain gorillas for almost 2 years. Ben Hillard (Donald Sutherland) assigns his best psychiatric resident Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.) to evaluate the silent Powell's mental stability. A door alarm sets Powell off in a violent rampage. He is locked up as Theo tries to engage Powell with the help of his daughter Lynn Powell (Maura Tierney). Dacks (John Ashton) is the sadistic guard. John Murray (George Dzundza) is the ineffective prison doctor.The movie starts with Hopkins acting like a mute Hannibal. There is something powerful and scary about Hopkins being silent. The premise loses some of the power as he starts talking. It's so much more powerful as an animalistic creature. I continue to have problems with Cuba as an actor. He is so earnest in every move he makes. It is the most annoying thing. Now this character does have this arrogant superiority. So his acting somehow fits the character. It doesn't make me like him anymore. As for the anti-civilization diatribe, I take it with a handful of salt and swallow it as best I can. The turn in the movie doesn't really help and makes it less interesting. The movie starts with something fascinating but fades into a weak Shawshank.

This movie is absolutely incredible. It's one of those that will stay with you for days, that will make you think about your place in the world. It will change you. I think this will have to be one of my top ten favorite movies. It might even make a shorter list. I remember when I read the book, Ishmael, I felt the same way, so I wasn't surprised to read in the opening credits that the movie was influenced by that book. Anthony Hopkins is a brilliant actor, and he delivered a brilliant performance. However, he was supported by an array of brilliance. I rarely watch movies a second time, but this one will remain a classic to me, and, as I re-read Ishmael, so will I re-watch Instinct.