Instinct: NZIFF Review

Definitely one of the most uncomfortable films of the festival, Dutch psychological thriller Instinct is a queasy look at the power dynamic between men and women.

Game of Thrones' Melisandre aka Carice van Houten is Nicoline, a therapist working at a prison. Newly installed in the position, Nicoline finds herself unwisely drawn to sexual offender Idris (Aladdin's Marwen Kenzari).

Despite every instinct of her training telling her otherwise, Nicoline puts herself in positions that offer temptation at every turn - however, the question remains, is she the victim or the instigator?

Instinct skirts around forbidden desire in an extremely uncomfortable way.

For most of the film, it feels like van Houten's character is the questionable one, with every single action leading you to scream at her and her behaviour in the rehab centre. 

But that's also where the power of this film lies - in its manipulation dance and in inviting you along for the uncomfortable ride. 

Mood lighting helps greatly, with the director's use of blues and whites blurring the lines as the complexities and uncertainties of the two flirt with each other.

There are deeper questions to be raised here, and perhaps Nicoline's character is not as fully fleshed out as she could be (a relationship with her mother seems odd to say the least) but robbing her of the character context actually works to the film's advantage and the viewer's disadvantage.