Cast: Natasha Richardson, Ian McKellen, Marton Csokas, Hugh Bonneville. Dir: David Mackenzie. Set in England in the late 50s, this is the haunting story of the tragic consequences of pursuing erotic passion at all costs. Desperate housewife Stella (Natasha Richardson) gets hands-on horticultural hints from a hunky handyman in this steamy gothic melodrama set in Fifties England. Her lover’s violent history emerges - as does her husband’s understanding of her deception - leading to a storm of jealousy, scandal and destruction. When Max (Hugh Bonneville) takes a job in a remote asylum, it’s not long before his bored housewife takes a shine to handsome inmate Edgar (Marton Csokas). Undettered by the warnings from Max’s devious colleague Dr Cleave (Ian McKellen), Stella and her tasty toyboy get down and dirty in the greenhouse, unaware of the tragic consequences their illicit affair will bring. The story, which is based on the novel by Patrick McGrath, isn’t short on drama, but there’s an emotional distance from the characters which doesn’t draw the audience into their heartbreak.
Instead, it invites us to watch the psychological intrigues unfold with the detached curiosity of Dr. Cleave. Much like Young Adam, Asylum keeps it’s characters at arm’s length while maintaining an infectious fascination with their often disastrous actions, rendering this more intellectually than emotionally involving. The film strays with an implausible plotline that swerves off in new directions when you thought you knew where it was going. Gorgeously filmed in fading autumnal sunshine and under ominously darkening skies, it benefits from superb performances by Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen.
McKellen steals the show and has all the best lines, but sadly even the power of the great Gandolph is not enough to stop the film from sinking under the weight of it’s absurd script.