Asylum

I love the way Patrick McGrath writes. This adaptation of one of his novels is ok and successfully brings out the tortured angst his characters usually seem to be infused with. I preferred the film adaptation of his novel “Spider.” The strength of that film was Ralph Fiennes’ claustrophobic performance. It helped balance the demented elements. In “Asylum” we get a bit too much demented and not enough subtle performance. The plot ends up in places I wish it hadn’t gone. But I loved watching Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen.
Favorite moment: Stella giving Dr. Cleave one last remand.
20