In a better world, Natasha Richardson would star in at least two movies a year. The daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, she has her mother's extraordinary talent and breathless sensuality. Like mom, when Richardson's turned on onscreen, you can feel the heat. In the uneven yet compelling "Asylum," she plays Stella, the bored wife of boring hubby Max (Hugh Bonneville), who has just taken a job as the deputy director at a massive mental hospital for the criminally insane just outside of London. Read the full review
Stella is a restless woman who desperately desires to find in romantic love the one thing that will change everything. When her husband is appointed deputy superintendent at a high-security psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane, Stella bonds with an inmate who is confined for murdering his wife in a jealous rage.
Directors: David MacKenzie, Mace Neufeld, Edward Saxon
Starring: Natasha Richardson, Marton Csokas, Ian McKellen, Hugh Bonneville, Sean Harris
Run time: 90 minutes
Release date: August 12, 2005
Rating: R for strong sexuality, some violence and brief language.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B-
"We're drawn into Stella's frustration, anger and hothouse sexuality. She's a woman trapped. In the wrong decade, in the wrong place, with the wrong husband. And maybe the wrong lover."
The Palm Beach Post: C
"A few good performances to relish. But those who insist on taking a dramatic narrative seriously had better look elsewhere."
