Movies

The new psychodrama Instincttells the not very compelling tale of Dr. Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins), a primatologist who kills some African game wardens after disappearing into the bush with his furry study group. Convicted on the Dark Continent, Powell is saved by the feds and shipped back to the States, where he falls under the care of Dr. Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a shrink who's imagining a bestselling case study long before he meets his patient. Caulder gets Powell to tell him about the murders, but he quickly loses control of their sessions, as Powell rants about the evils of "taking" (Instinct's shorthand for the rat race, civilization, whatever). As directed by Jon Turtletaub (the equally dippy Phenomenon), Instinctmoves along at a competent clip, but it's mostly a tease, suggesting that Hopkins is a Lechter-ape when he's really more of a nature-loving Shaolin monk. The absurdities pile up, like Gooding's constant, earnest demand that Hopkins tell him about "the jungle." Not that show-me-the-money man should have any expertise in such matters, but it wouldn't have killed Instinctto acknowledge there's something curious about the white-haired Hopkins teaching the woolly-haired Gooding Jr. about humanity's African roots.