Instinct (2019 film)

Last updated

Instinct
Instinct (2019 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Halina Reijn
Written by
  • Esther Gerritsen
  • Halina Reijn
Produced by
  • Frans Van Gestel
  • Arnold Heslenfeld
  • Laurette Schillings
Starring
Cinematography Jasper Wolf
Edited by Job ter Burg
Music byElla Van Der Woude
Production
companies
Distributed bySeptember Film Distribution
Release dates
  • 12 August 2019 (2019-08-12)(Locarno)
  • 3 October 2019 (2019-10-03)(Netherlands)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryNetherlands
LanguageDutch
Box office$947,316 [1]

Instinct is a 2019 Dutch drama film directed by Halina Reijn from a script she co-wrote with Esther Gerritsen and it stars Carice van Houten and Marwan Kenzari. It follows Nicoline, a prison therapist who becomes obsessed with a patient, who is a serial rapist. [2] It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. [3] It was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. [4]

Contents

Plot

A prison therapist becomes obsessed with her charismatic patient, a violent serial rapist on the verge of being paroled.

Cast

Production

The idea for the film came when Reijn was watching a documentary programme called "Liefde in de TBS" (Love in the TBS) broadcast by EO, how about how relationships happen between therapists and their patients in a prison psychiatric hospital. She wanted explore intimacy about a woman who was unable to be intimate with others due to being hurt in the past, she who doesn't trust her own instincts anymore in regards to her own sexuality and desires. She wanted to examine her own confused feelings around her own sexuality and alongside wanted to explore themes of power, sexuality and intimacy. [5]

Reijn pitched the concept to producer Frans van Gestel, about a psychotherapist who falls for her worst enemy. Van Gestel contacted five screenwriters for the project, of the five, Esther Gerristen was the one hired. Reijn viewed it as an important step at the time, She viewed having a second writer as necessary. The writing of the script, she co-wrote with Esther Gerristen, started before the #MeToo movement, but they get more motivated to actually realize the project after the movement took off. [5] They researched anything they could find about tbs, including a visit to a tbs-clinic in order to fact-check their own work. [6] Michel Schöpping was brought in by van Gestel for the sound design. [5] He also surrounded Reijn with other experienced professionals, including cinematographer Jasper Wolf and editor Job ter Burg. [6]

In one of their first meetings they decided to include less female nudity, with a focus on the female gaze. [5] Van Houten, recalled in hindsight asking herself the question regarding her previous projects, "Why am I even naked for this scene?", they also wanted to avoid the objectification of women in the film and wanna show off sexuality without immediately adding female nudity. [7] The movie does contains male nudity, and they wanted include full frontal nudity, but they were overruled, even though Kenzari was up for it. [5]

Writing and filming happened under the working title of Locus of Control. [6] Carice van Houten and Marwan Kenzari were cast in the lead roles. They decided to keep the production small-scale with a modest budget, the filming took only 23 days. [5] The shoot took place in May 2018. [6]

They changed the name from Locus of Control to Instinct, realizing most people wouldn't know the term locus of control. [8]

Release

Instinct premiered at the 72nd Locarno Film Festival. On September 19, 2022, it was announced that A24 had acquired North American distribution rights to the film, exclusively screening it as double feature with Reijn's Bodies Bodies Bodies in the company's screening room three days later on September 22. [9]

Reception

Instinct has an approval rating of 80% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10. [10] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". [11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Instinct (2019)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  2. ↑ "'Instinct': Film Review Locarno 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. ↑ "Toronto Adds The Aeronauts,Mosul,Seberg, & More To Festival Slate". Deadline. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (2 September 2019). "Oscars: Netherlands Selects 'Instinct' for International Feature Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rovers, Ronald (23 September 2019). "'Ik ben klaar met het circusberenbestaan'". Filmkrant . Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Beekman, Bor (1 June 2018). "In de eerste speelfilm onder haar regie, Locus of Control, morrelt Halina Reijn in onze genante en gevaarlijke grijsgebieden". Volkskrant . Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Carice van Houten: 'Ik ben wel een beetje klaar met naakt'". Spraakmakers. KRO-NCRV. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Beekman, Bor (24 September 2019). "Het laatste wat Halina Reijn met haar regiedebuut wil, is behagen". Volkskrant . Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (19 September 2022). "A24 Nabs Erotic Thriller 'Instinct' From 'Bodies Bodies Bodies' Director Halina Reijn". Variety . Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Instinct (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes .
  11. ↑ "Instinct". Metacritic .
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