"A gothic tale, a tale of high passion," is how Ian McKellen describes Patrick McGrath's meticulously crafted novel in the brief interviews that pass as DVD extras here. He's right, although that passion doesn't simmer as it should in David Mackenzie's adaptation.
McGrath's Go-Between-meets-Shock Corridor tale explores the boundaries between sanity and insanity, via the grim fallout of an affair between a stuffy doc's terminally bored wife (Natasha Richardson) and a psychotic inmate-cum-gardener (Marton Csokas). Sadly, their covert rutting seems less like a lust that won't be denied than daft caprice in Mackenzie's adaptation, which squeezes in too much and plays it too fast. Come the second half, though, McGrath's subtly torrid tale takes on a slyly insinuating weight, thanks to the ominous, echoing setting and the murky machinations of McKellen's dubious Dr Peter. As its pieces slot into place, Asylum's devilish design finally impacts.
DVD Extras:
Interviews with members of the cast, Original trailer.
