One of the many films to play at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was the directorial debut from Dutch actorHalina Reijn,Instinct. The film is about a veteran female psychologist (Carice van Houten) that becomes infatuated by the sex offender (Marwan Kenzari) she is treating in a penal institution. In spite of her expertise and experience, we watch the two of them engage in an ever changing power play. While it would be easy for the film to paint in just black and white colors, Halina Reijn has crafted a movie where the viewer is not given easy answers.
Shortly after seeing the film, Carice van Houten and Halina Reijn came by the Collider studio at TIFF. They talked about the advicePaul Verhoevengave them for making a movie, how the film deals with addiction and toxic behavior, what it’s about, playing TIFF, how things changed in the editing room, their love of HBO’sEuphoria, how they both got into the industry because of the movieAnnie, and so much more it would be impossible to list it all here.
Check out what they had to say in the player above and below is what we talked about followed by the trailer and official synopsis.
Carice van Houten and Halina Reijn:
Here’s the trailer and official synopsis:
Nicoline, an experienced psychologist, starts a new job at a penal institution. She meets Idris, a sex offender who committed a series of grave crimes. After five years of treatment, he is about to go on his first unaccompanied probation. His team of practitioners are enthusiastic about his development but newcomer Nicoline does not trust him and tries to push his probation. Idris tries his hardest to convince Nicoline of his good intentions, but slowly but surely, he transforms into the manipulative man she saw in him from the beginning. A power play emerges between the two and Nicoline, in spite of her knowledge and experience, lets herself be trapped completely.
