A Cure for Wellness (Gore Verbinski, 2017): USA

Reviewed by Katrina Storton. Viewed in theatre.

I have been very excited for this film’s release since seeing the first trailer. I happen to be a fanatic for all things asylum, mental hospital, and sanatorium related. The films of this genre appear to have a hit or miss reputation. A Cure for Wellness, however, has to be one of the most fantastically disturbing yet captivating films in its respected genre. It may be saying much, but I feel this film will fall amongst others such as One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) or Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Gore Verbinski is an incredibly versatile director. He is probably most known for directing the first three installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2007) series, along with Mousehunt (1997), The Ring (2002) and The Lone Ranger (2013). A Cure for Wellness has a talented cast as well, it stars Dane DeHaan (Kill Your Darlings), Jason Isaacs (The Harry Potter Series) and Mia Goth (Everest).

A Cure for Wellness focuses on Lockhart (DeHaan), a young executive sent to a remote sanatorium in the Swiss Alps to retrieve his company’s CEO (this comes with much difficulty). During his longer than intended stay, Lockhart feels that the sanatorium’s director Dr. Volmer (Isaacs), and his “cure” are not as they appear. Soon after developing suspicions about Dr. Volmer and his facility, Lockhart is diagnosed with the same strange illness everyone else at the sanatorium has. Lockhart agrees to prolong his stay and accept treatment. During this time he meets Hannah (Goth), a young, naïve, and innocent girl who stands out amongst the other elderly patients.

Critics have criticized A Cure for Wellness for reusing common tropes of the genre, having a predictable twist and commonly seen scares. In my personal opinion, this film was not as similar to Shutter Island as many claim. A Cure for Wellness was not as nearly predictable, had a different and more practical approach to its frights (no jumpscares), and presented many more layers to the story than expected. It is easy to compare, but while A Cure for Wellness has its similarities to films like Shutter Island (2010) or Gothika (2003), it stands out against them for many reasons.

A Cure for Wellness is visually stunning with a surfeit of visual style. The cinematography of the film is stunningly memorizing. Verbinski plays with obscure Kubrickesque angles, shots that use water distortion, the blur of a magnifying glass, and mirror reflection. The clever camera tricks add another layer of entertainment to the film.

Additionally, Verbinski skillfully used color to convey the film’s many emotions. Serenity and safety are displayed with a mostly all white color scheme that features and occasional bright, healthy green. In the trailers, however, what is shown is hues of grey, white, brown, and a sickly green tone; these colors represent what lies beneath the pristine appearance of the sanatorium. As a viewer, you begin to notice the color changes and rely on them to understand if Lockhart or Hannah are currently in danger or not. Not only does the audience begin to understand the meaning of each color shade, but they also begin to feel at ease or tense, depending on what colors are in use. This is a common use of mise-en-scene. However, Verbinski creatively reuses all the same colors in varying tints.

The plot is presented in an interesting manner as well. A Cure for Wellness is two hours and twenty-six minutes long. The extra length of the film, compared to average duration, is spent exploring many layers of the plot, Lockhart exploring his surroundings and allowing for anticipation to heavily set in. Portions of A Cure for Wellness are non-linear. It consists of multiple flashbacks to explain what you’re about to see but is displayed in a way that you don’t always know whether it is a flashback or current events. This was actually very confusing during a few moments.

Much of the film consists of heavy foreshadowing in multiple forms: editing, dialog, props, setting and even costuming. A lot of tiny, yet clever details were put into the story to help reveal the ending twist. A twist that the trailers don’t approach in any way, a twist and hidden plot line only exposed while watching the film.

Overall, A Cure for Wellness is a well-made horror/thriller/drama film. It is not a jumpscares type of horror, nor is it a gory slasher either. A Cure for Wellness is a solid thriller film with many gruesomely spine-tingling moments that will make your squirm in your seat. It is not what you may expect. For anyone who is a fan of the genre, premise, actors, or Gore Verbinski’s work; I predict you will enjoy A Cure for Wellness for what it is.

Save