Instinct (1999)

Instinct presents a cinematic exercise in earnest, albeit uneven, social consciousness. We are placed in a sterile prison environment to observe the clash between a young psychiatrist and a man who has chosen to reside among wild apes. This is not a film that seeks nuance; it offers us a thesis delivered with the gravitas of a university lecture. The primary conflict revolves around the destruction of the natural world by human greed, a message articulated through heavy-handed monologues from Anthony Hopkins. This emphasis on environmental collapse provides the film with its most notable thematic heft, yet it stops short of mounting a cohesive critique of global capitalism or systemic social injustice.

The attempts at progressive sensibilities are scattered and often feel like they were dropped into the narrative solely to fulfill a thematic quota. The film gestures toward diverse casting, providing certain minority actors with lead roles, but the script rarely engages with these identities beyond their physical presence. The psychological study of the criminally insane is present, focusing on trauma and mutism as a plot device rather than exploring neurodivergence as a distinct identity. The film’s social awareness is largely focused on the plight of the gorilla, which is a singular, nature-centric focus. The overall cultural awareness remains firmly rooted in the late 1990s sensibility of man versus nature, rather than the specific, complex social critiques of our current era.

It is a competent psychological thriller, but its social commentary is ultimately too broad to qualify as cutting edge. The conviction that civilization is inherently corrupt is stated with such overwhelming conviction that it becomes didactic. This film operates on the assumption that the audience requires a sermon on the necessity of abandoning modern society. It is a vintage piece of cinema, certainly, but its progressive sensibilities feel like an overzealous argument from a bygone decade.