Stonehearst Asylum

The Book

The short story that the film is based on goes by the bizarre title of The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether (referring to a severe form of humiliation meted out to people who deserved punishment - being brushed in hot tar and then coated with feathers). It is the original tale from which all other versions stem whereby the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
The tale is told in the first person by a gentleman who, while travelling in France, makes a visit to a private mad-house as he has heard great things about their methods of treatment. A friend introduces him to the superintendent, Monsieur Maillard, who welcomes him and invites him to dine with six other guests. The behaviour of the guests becomes increasingly eccentric, but the gentleman is uncertain whether it is the peculiarity of the Europeans (and doesn't want to make a social faux pas) or that he is dining with lunatics.
The end of their meal is interrupted when a group of freakish apes crash into the room and a fight ensues. The real guards and doctors of the asylum had been locked in the basement, tarred and feathered. One had escaped, released the others and they had now successfully recaptured the mad-house.



Official movie website


The Film

The premise of the short story is developed and fleshed out into a wonderfully Gothic looking but modern thinking adaptation. No longer in France but Scotland, the gentleman (Jim Sturgess) arrives at Stonehearst Asylum, where he is to take up a position as a doctor. The scenario is the same as Poe's but with the addition of a woman, Eliza Graves, an inmate suffering from a hysteria brought on by her husband's brutal love making that causes seizure when any man touches her. She becomes the love interest for the doctor and his reason for staying when he discovers the truth about the regime change.

In Poe's story the successful treatment methods of humouring the patients and indulging them in their fantasies were probably seen as comic (and the film does start that way with some comedy over feeding a man who thinks he is a horse), but with today's understanding and methods of supporting those living with a mental health issue it seems progressive.
The viewer's empathy for the asylum inmates continually teeters, as compassion reveals the gentle nature of some of the afflicted or situations can cause sudden changes that give rise to anger and anarchy. Flashbacks to when the staff treated madness with water cannons, sedatives and sweat boxes highlight the primitive and harsh methods that were used in the past further blurs the right and wrong of the situation.

There is a great, simple and realistic fight scene towards the end between the Jim Sturgess and David Thewlis' characters - a welcome relief in the days of ultra violent, drawn out bad guy / good guy showdowns. 

There are a whole host of delightful characters in the film and some major name actors - Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine, David Thewlis - so it is puzzling how the film went straight to video / on demand rather than the cinema. When there are so many sequels and remakes being churned out, I hope people seek this film out as it doesn't deserve to sink into obscurity. 

If you enjoyed the story, then indulge yourself in the Gothic tales from Edgar Allan Poe especially The Tell Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum.

If you enjoyed the film, try the film adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.