Stonehearst Asylum (2014)

Stonehearst Asylum (2014)
Or shall we call it: Hysteria – The Mirror of Madness

Stonehearst Asylum is an American film directed by Brad Anderson. It is loosely based on the short story ‘The System of Doctor Tar and Professor Feather’ by Edgar Allan Poe. It is a darkly humorous short story written by Poe and translated into French by Charles Baudelaire.

Interesting fact: the cast member is called… Kate Beckinsale! Kate Dowd. I wonder how subjective she was in choosing a Kate for the lead role. ;-D. And Mel Gibson is one of the producers!

Relatively interesting film. I thought it would be more complicated to understand, but the dialogue is good and fluid and I got caught up in the intriguing atmosphere. There’s a certain amount of suspense because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. It’s not a thriller that puts you under tension at times, but more permanently.

Sometimes you get lost; you don’t know who knows what, who knows what secrets. You don’t even know who the good or bad people really are.

The film lost some of its interest in the last half hour, before offering a not too bad finale.
But I have to admit that after a certain point, I was a little less taken. If a whole load of bricks falls on someone… but they still manage to survive, it’s hard to take the rest of it seriously. Either everything’s unrealistic, like in a superhero world, or you try to make everything at least a little realistic. But a little of this and a little of that don’t necessarily make for a good sauce.

That said, the film doesn’t get carried away, and that’s a good thing.

The cast is good, and it’s a treat to watch the quartet formed by Michael Caine (unfortunately we don’t see too much of him), Ben Kingsley (in a very interesting role), Kate Beckinsale (true to form!), and Jim Sturgess. It’s the latter I didn’t know, as I don’t think I’ve seen any of his other films. I haven’t seen Apartment 7A (2024), J.T. Leroy (2018), One Day (2011), The Best Offer (2013), Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2014), Cloud Atlas (2012), or Geostorm (2017).

I think the biggest fans of Edgar Allan Poe will probably love this film! The others will find it fun.
It’s not a film with too much action. It’s not a feature film with explosions, heroes running in slow motion, or ultra well-choreographed fights. It’s a dramatic thriller. It’s also classified under horror, but I think that label can be quickly removed. It’s no worse than other films set in an asylum, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) or Girl, Interrupted (1999), both of which are excellent.

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