The whole problem with the film, if there is one, is not thematic or psychological or intellectual. It's technical. The film alternates between ear-splitting screaming and shouting, as Hopkins erupts into sudden violence -- and quiet, almost silent scenes as Gooding murmurs to Hopkins, or Sutherland whispers to Gooding, in oh-so-dramatic, hushed tones.
Whispering scenes in movies are nothing new of course. Every actor thinks he's doing something profound when he does a whispering scene... speaking so softly that the performance just HAS to be great.
But in "Instinct" the dialogue in these scenes is mixed so quietly that you need subtitles to understand what the hell these people are saying. So you crank the volume up just as far as it will possibly go, or even farther, and then MAYBE you catch a few words. Maybe.
Then next thing you know -- BOOM! -- here comes another god-awful explosion of violence, noise, screaming, things smashing, drums pounding, Hopkins leaping around like an ape on PCP... and you have to race over to turn the damn thing down before it splits your goddamn eardrums wide open.
Sound mixing has really gone down the tubes every since the wonder of Dolby and 5.1 mixes...
Whispering scenes in movies are nothing new of course. Every actor thinks he's doing something profound when he does a whispering scene... speaking so softly that the performance just HAS to be great.
But in "Instinct" the dialogue in these scenes is mixed so quietly that you need subtitles to understand what the hell these people are saying. So you crank the volume up just as far as it will possibly go, or even farther, and then MAYBE you catch a few words. Maybe.
Then next thing you know -- BOOM! -- here comes another god-awful explosion of violence, noise, screaming, things smashing, drums pounding, Hopkins leaping around like an ape on PCP... and you have to race over to turn the damn thing down before it splits your goddamn eardrums wide open.
Sound mixing has really gone down the tubes every since the wonder of Dolby and 5.1 mixes...