Gothika (2003)

Gothika: Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. With Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch. A depressed psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the asylum where she worked, with no memory of why she is there or what she has done.

“u0026quot;Gothikau0026quot; proves that Halle Berry is more than just another pretty face. Her talent is equal to her drop dead good looks. Berry plays psychiatrist Dr. Miranda Grey who is content in her work at an asylum and happily married to her boss Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles S. Dutton). A colleague Dr. Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) also has eyes for the comely doctor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e One night Mirandau0026#39;s world is turned upside down. As she is driving home from work in a rainstorm, she is suddenly confronted by a young girl (Kathleen Mackey) standing in the middle of the road. Mirandau0026#39;s car goes off the road but she manages to return to the young girl. The next thing we see is Miranda waking up in the asylum as a patient and not knowing why she is there. She is told that she is suspected of murdering her husband but can remember nothing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e Dazed and confused and unsure of who to trust, she begins to try and fill in the missing blanks of her memory. Has she really gone mad or did she actually commit the crime? She begins to have flashback visions, especially after she learns the identity of the girl on the road that night. Is there an element of the supernatural at work here or is Mranda actually going mad? Director Mathieu Kassovitz keeps us guessing right up to the surprise ending.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e Berry gives a memorable performance as the confused doctor. She alternates between rational and irrational behavior in convincing fashion. Penelope Cruz plays a patient that Miranda had been treating and whom she meets u0026quot;on the insideu0026quot;. Downey does the best he can with his part as the doctor who might know more about Mirandau0026#39;s situation than he lets on. John Carroll Lynch plays Sheriff Ryan who had been close personal friends with the Greys, and who turns on Miranda when she is charged with the murder of her husband. Others in the cast include Dorian Harewood as Mirandau0026#39;s lawyer and Bernard Hill as the chief psychiatrist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e There are elements of the supernatural mixed into the plot to be sure, but it is the lovely and talented Halle Berry that makes this film memorable.”