''Instinct'' is a 1999 American

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film, directed by

Jon Turteltaub Jonathan Charles Turteltaub (born August 8, 1963) is an American film director, writer and producer. Early life, family and education Turteltaub was born on August 8, 1963, in New York City, one of two children born to comedy writer Saul Turtel ...

, and starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. His accolades include an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. Gooding's breakthrough was in the film ''Boyz n the Hood ...

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Maura Tierney Maura Lynn Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009) and Helen Solloway on the myst ...

George Dzundza George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is a retired American actor. He is known for his varied work in film and on television, including '' The Deer Hunter'' (1978), '' Skokie'' (1981), '' No Way Out'' (1987), '' The Beast'' (1988), '' Impulse'' ...

and

John Ashton John Ashton may refer to: Entertainment * John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician * Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director * John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author * John A ...

. It was very loosely inspired by ''

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

'', a novel by

Daniel Quinn Daniel Clarence Quinn (October 11, 1935 – February 17, 2018) was an American author (primarily, novelist and fabulist), cultural critic, and publisher of educational texts, best known for his novel ''Ishmael'', which won the Turner Tomorrow ...

. In the United States, the film had the working title ''Ishmael''. In 2000, the film was nominated for and won a

Genesis Award The Genesis Awards are awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by the HSU ...

in the category of feature film. This was the first film produced by

Spyglass Entertainment Spyglass Media Group, LLC is an American independent film and television production and finance company based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum on August 21, 1998 as Spyglass Entertainment and ...

Plot

The film examines the mind of

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

Ethan Powell who had been missing for a few years, living in the jungle of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda and is located in three districts of Kisoro, Kabale and Kanungu District, Kanungu. The Bwindi forest is on the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branc ...

with

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN . There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga Mountains, Virunga volcanic mountains of C ...

s. He is convicted of killing and injuring several supposed Wilderness Park Rangers in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, and is sent to prison. A bright young

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, Theo Caulder, tries to find out why he killed them, but becomes entangled in a quest to learn the true history and nature of humankind, stating that

civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

has steadily destroyed the natural world, advocating that humans abandon this. Eventually it is revealed that during the course of Powell's stay with the gorillas, they accepted him as part of their group; he was attempting to protect his

great ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...

family when the

poacher Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunti ...

s arrived and started shooting them. He gets a hearing to reveal the truth, but an attack by a vicious guard on another prisoner causes Powell to be reminded of the killed gorillas, at which point he violently attacks the guard to stop him, is restrained and stops talking again. At the end of the film, Powell escapes from prison using a pen to dig out the lock on a window, and heads back to Africa.

Cast

Production

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Directo ...

was initially looking to direct the film but became executive producer with his partner

Gail Katz Gail Katz is a film, television, and theatrical producer. Career Katz began her career at New World Pictures. In 1991, she produced her first film entitled, '' Shattered''. Katz is currently a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts Th ...

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on January 25, 1998 and ended on August 7.

Buena Vista Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...

handled North American distribution, while

handled international sales.

Buena Vista International Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...

handled distribution rights in the United Kingdom, Australia and Latin America.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gives the film a critic score of 26% based on reviews from 65 critics. The site's consensus states: "A convoluted and predictable plot overshadows the performances."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gives the film a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. James Berardinelli gave the film 2.5 out 4 describing the film as having "Solid directing and good acting!"

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4.

Box office

The film underperformed at the box-office, grossing only $34,105,207 in the United States and Canada. The film won a

for its themes of animal rights. On the day of the premiere for this film in Orlando, FL, Cuba Gooding, Jr. added his handprints to a star outside of the Chinese Theater at MGM Studios, a park at Walt Disney World. This walk of fame is a replica of the famous Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.

Soundtrack

# "Main Title" # "Into the Wild" # "Back to the Forest" # "Everybody Goes" # "The Killing" # "The Riot" # "Escape" # "End Credits"

References

External links

* * * {{Use mdy dates, date=May 2012 1999 films 1999 psychological thriller films American psychological thriller films Films based on American novels Films directed by Jon Turteltaub Films about gorillas Films shot in Uganda Spyglass Entertainment films Touchstone Pictures films Films scored by Danny Elfman 1999 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language thriller films