Asylum (2005)

Synopsis: The wife of the director of a mental hospital starts an affair with an inmate who killed his own wife.

Appraisal: Having read the book a few years ago (a rare event indeed!), I must say that the characters, situations and environments were very much like I imagined; for this, and for the general competence of the project, the filmmakers must be praised. There is one difference, though, and here I may be misremembering, or perhaps I just didn't read the book with the necessary attention: I don't recall the character of 'Cleave' as being homosexual or homosexually inclined or even just perceived as such by other characters; the film also seems to make him cold and calculating, a characteristic that either is absent in the novel or completely escaped me. In general, and again this may be due simply to my poor reading skills, I think the film improved upon the book.

Rating: 59