Stonehearst Asylum is inspired by a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. It stars Kate Beckinsale (probably one of the most beautiful actresses ever), Michael Caine, Jim Sturgess, and Ben Kingsley.
I love this movie simply for the fact that the "movie critics" hated it, but just about everyone else loved it. Critics just destroyed this movie. They said everything from, "With such a big cast it was obvious that this was just a 'paycheck' movie since most of the actors haven't been doing a lot lately" to "I don't know why I keep going to asylum themed horror movies." Hello? Did you even watch the show?
First of all, it is not a horror movie, nor was it meant to be. It's a thriller. There is a bit of suspense for the characters. Granted, the outcome was fairly predictable, but there are moments when you find yourself worrying.
Secondly, I thought the "big cast" was wonderful. Beckinsale was charming as ever. I just love her. Sturgess is his usual neurotic self, which plays perfectly for his character. Kingsley is awesome. In everything he's in, he's the jerk everyone loves, this was no exception. Caine's part was played down, but he played it well.
I honestly don't know what the critics had against this movie. I was pleasantly surprised.
Okay, on to the synopsis. Edward Newgate (Sturgess) is a freshly minted doctor right at the turn of the 19th century. He has the schooling and the knowledge, but he needs clinical practice. He's always been interested in the mentally unstable because he wants to help them become whole people again. When you learn his back-story, it makes a lot of sense. He goes to Stonehearst to gain that experience.
Silas Lamb (Kingsley) runs the asylum in a completely unconventional way, and right from the start you get the feeling that something is not quite right. This may be what the critics didn't like. The plot is revealed fairly early on, and they probably wanted a bigger build-up, but I honestly don't believe that that was the focus of the film. At any rate, Silas allows the patients free reign, and doesn't believe in the barbaric treatment most asylums employed in that era. The patients seem to be thriving under his social experiment. One of the funniest lines of the movie comes from this new-age treatment plan when we see a man who believes he's a horse, and Silas threatens to neglect his grooming session if he doesn't behave. Newgate questions if this isn't reinforcing a negative behavior to which Silas says, "Yes." Newgate complains that the man needs to be brought out of his delusional state, and Silas says, "To what purpose? Then we would have a malcontent old man instead of a happy horse." I laughed, anyway.
As Newgate gets to know the residence of the asylum, he is instantly taken with Eliza Graves (Beckinsale), who is admitted because of hysteria brought on by touch. Apparently, she was grossly abused by her husband, so the touch of a man sends her into a seizure-like state. The movie actually begins with Eliza standing in front of a group of doctors claiming to not be mad. The attending doctor, touches her abdomen sending her into a fit of clonic tonic seizure, before telling the class that they should never believe anything they hear, and only half of what they see. This becomes a theme throughout the movie, and the bases for the twist ending.
Newgate vows to take Graves out of the asylum, but has to get her past her mental handicap, as well as the strange Dr. Lamb.
I don't think I gave away too much, but if you watch the show, you will see, fairly early on, why the asylum is so weird.
I loved this show, and not just because it had the stunning Beckinsale in it. It was a genuine surprise to watch after seeing all of the negative reviews from critics. I absolutely love when they are wrong. It wasn't the best movie ever made, and I don't want to mislead you and have you go into the film with too high of expectations, but it was far better than the critics gave it credit.
I give this movie
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