Asylum (2005 film)
| Asylum | |
|---|---|
Original film poster
|
|
| Directed by | David Mackenzie |
| Produced by | Mace Neufeld David E. Allen Laurie Borg |
| Written by |
Patrick Marber Chrysanthy Balis |
| Starring |
Natasha Richardson Marton Csokas Ian McKellen Sean Harris |
| Music by | Mark Mancina |
| Cinematography | Giles Nuttgens |
| Edited by | Colin Monie Steven Weisberg |
| Distributed by | Paramount Classics |
|
Release date
|
11 February 2005 (Berlin Film Festival) 9 September 2005 |
|
Running time
|
99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Ireland |
| Language | English |
Asylum is a 2005 Anglo-Irish drama film directed by David Mackenzie and made by Mace Neufeld Productions, Samson Films, Seven Arts Productions, Zephyr Films Ltd and released by Paramount Classics. It is based on the novel Asylum by Patrick McGrath and was adapted for the screen by Patrick Marber and Chrysanthy Balis.
It stars Natasha Richardson, Marton Csokas, Ian McKellen and Hugh Bonneville with a cast also including Sean Harris, Joss Ackland, Wanda Ventham, Maria Aitken and Judy Parfitt.
Asylum is set in Britain in the early 1950s. It tells the story of Stella Raphael (Natasha Richardson), the bored and unfulfilled wife of Max (Hugh Bonneville), a psychiatrist working at a remote mental asylum. Stella starts a passionate affair with Edgar (Marton Csokas), one of the patients. Edgar is particularly dangerous, having gruesomely murdered his wife in a jealous rage.
Not deterred by Edgar's violent past, Stella is beguiled by Edgar's passion and the affair intensifies. Although Max suspects nothing, Dr. Peter Cleave (Sir Ian McKellan) correctly guesses that the two are seeing each other. Cleave, who is fixated on Stella himself, attempts to get Edgar to admit to the affair – to no avail.
Edgar, who has been denied release, can take it no longer and breaks out of the asylum. Stella attempts to continue life without her lover, playing mother to her son, Charlie, and wife to Max. Around Christmas time, she receives a call from a friend of Edgar who arranges a rendezvous in London. The affair resumes with Stella using shopping trips as a pretext for her trips to the city. Edgar soon tires of the subterfuge – as well as sharing Stella's sexual attentions with Max – and demands that she choose to stay with him permanently or not return for another visit.
...
Wikipedia