Did you people see the same film I saw?

Admirable film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I really liked this movie.I thought the ending was going to be expected but it was really cool to be surprised.To be honest it deserves 9 stars but I'm very picky.

I watched this movie mainly because one of the reviewers criticised the IMDb ratings stating that it was highly unjustified and that the movie deserved a 9. So I went ahead and watched it even though I almost always go by the ratings here and then watch a flick.First the good bit- Each and every actor was great in this film. The direction is tense just as it should be for a mystery/thriller movie and you are hooked from the very first scene. As the plot thickens, it shows much promise. I was actually surprised by the twist and then...everything spirals out of control and the suspense towards the end is actually a bit far-fetched/unrealistic and makes you feel extremely disappointed. I'm giving it a 6.5 because of the promise the plot brought to the table and because the actors were great and seemed to give it their all. But I'm vexed at the director who couldn't deliver a great thriller in its entirety when this had so much potential. Oh well, watch it on a rainy day and keep your expectations low. The acting will make up for it I guess.On a separate note, I wish IMDb adds .5 to their 1-10 rating scale.

This is a decent film with some good performances. It isn't earth shattering but it does have good points.There's no loud intrusive noise, otherwise known as 'music'. Ben Kingsley is suitably menacing and clearly the star of the film while David Thewlis is a suitably menacing supporter if only seen a couple of times. Kate Beckinsale does well as the wrongly (?) committed love interest though strangely none of the villains, nor anyone else, seems to notice her connection with the good 'Doctor' Newgate or that she seems to be totally sane. Jim Sturgess does what Jim Sturgess does and that doesn't need much acting.But the film takes a long time to get going, at least the first 60 minutes are rather slow. From then it becomes more interesting though it does still seem to be a little episodic.The film claims to be based on a short story by one of the great short story writers, Edgar Allan Poe, but adapting a story of a few pages to the 'Big Screen' is always fraught with difficulty. This one goes down as a reasonable, though somewhat uninspiring, attempt, although the ending is unexpected and well done.My vote is lifted to 6 only by the villainous performance of Ben Kingsley as the whole film eventually becomes rather too ridiculous. Kate Beckinsale, supposedly a gentile lady of the first half of the 19th century, head-butting an aggressor really doesn't work.It is watchable and not a bad film. However, it is far from a great one.

Really liked it. It's not horror by any means. It's really enjoyable sort of in the way "The Prestige" was. Some twists and turns, a little bit of humor, a few slightly gruesome parts but nothing horrible.The acting was top notch, especially Ben Kingsly as "Silas Lamb", the man in charge of Stonehearst Asylum, and of course Michael Caine was great as always. And Eliza Graves and Edward Newgate in the leading roles did a great job.Held my interest from beginning to end. Satisfying ending. (I didn't say "happy ending", you'll have to find that our for yourself!). My only one slight criticism is that the "crazy" people aren't as really crazy as you'll find in a real mental ward, I've unfortunately been in one (as a visitor) and some of the people in there were truly scary. (Other than "Arthur" who was scary in a physically dangerous way). I really recommend this movie. I spend 2 hours on IMDb searching for a 90-minute movie that's half good, and half the time I get a complete loser, this one was really worth it.