Mary Reilly (1996)

The tale of "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" has been retold so many times now, with so many variations, that Robert Louis Stevenson must be sorry he started the whole damn mess. This film (which is more than the 20th version) is yet another twist on the tale. Based on a 1990 novel by Valerie Martin, "Mary Reilly" lets us see the story through the eyes of the Jeckyl's maid.

The film version, surprisingly, isn't exactly bad. With two very recognizable names cast in the lead roles and a great director to helm the piece, it's bound to have strong points. Ultimately, the film does kind of fail, but it's an interesting trip at times. The cast has Julia Roberts as the titular maid and John Malkovich as the respected doctor in decline. Stephen Frears, who has brought us films as diverse as "Hero" and "My Beautiful Launderette," stands behind the camera.

Roberts is surprisingly good. Doing her best to speak softly, intoning an accent at all times and looking almost homely, believe it or not, Roberts does some of her best work on screen in eons. Her Reilly is vulnerable yet strong, demure yet sexual. As a servant in the house of Dr. Jeckyl she must walk a fine line between her social status and her blossoming relationship with her employer. We don't fail to notice that she never smiles and she hardly ever lifts her eyes to look at anyone directly, even the rather friendly Dr. Jeckyl. Still, the give-and-take between Roberts and Malkovich is quite playful and interesting here. As the kind, intelligent, and mysterious Jeckyl, Malkovich prods Roberts for clues into her past. Robert's Reilly has a few sordid tales to tell and, as their relationship grows more comfortable, she shares these with the good doctor. Eventually, however, these stories will be used against her as the restrained Jeckyl evolves into the debauched Hyde. Malkovich, who has to convince us his "drug" transforms him from a grey haired, bearded, fragile physician to a jet-black haired, youthful, vivacious killer, plays both roles opposite Roberts with interesting effect. Meanwhile, Roberts' reactions to both incarnations of the man, are well played as well. When one thinks of it, it is rather amazing what Roberts does here without ever once being forceful.

The plot has too much underlying sub-text that the script, by Christopher Hampton, doesn't fully explore. Mary's relationship with her abusive father (Michael Gambon) is ample fodder for character, plot and dialogue developments and Hampton only scratches the surface with them. Furthermore, the scenes with Glenn Close as a brothel madame are not nearly detailed enough. Since we see the whole story from the maid's P.O.V., however, much of this is understandable. Roberts' reactions to the things she sees is insightful. We see the mayhem from the fringes like herself. But, at times, we wish she were more an inquisitive, resourceful sole. Instead, much of the time, she must play the mouse in the maze waiting for Hyde's next move. Hampton could give her more to do (and therefore see) but he is forced into a period piece in which a young maiden isn't allowed to do such things. Hampton, on the plus side, continually reminds us of this by placing a binder on Mary throughout the film's main running in the form of a servant named Mr. Poole (George Cole). As the head of the staff, he is consistently holding Mary at bay.

Frears does a lot of interesting things with the film and, at times, it's all he has going to keep our interest. He places a suspended walkway in one of the sets to remind us of Mary's precarious predicament. He films two highly repulsive scenes using animals being slaughtered to hint at the mayhem Mary is barely missing. An eel skinning in the film's first 10 minutes is surely enough to put anyone off of the popcorn they bought at the refreshment stand while a trip to the slaughterhouse near the end of the film features a stairway literally running in red. This almost seems an homage to Eisenstein's famous scene in "Battleship Potemkin." But Frears best work here comes in his use of greys and splashes of color. The film is in color, of course, but most of it's running time is spent in grays, blacks and whites, An occasional pale blue hardly does much to improve the situation. The only color in the film comes from the flower garden Mary plants (and that is still muted), from the scenes in the whorehouse or from the red of blood. It's interesting that the whore's lips in the film are always painted a blood red.

In the film's eyes, only the truly debauched are truly happy. It is only there we find splashes of color or flickers of smiles. For example, the plot has Mary's mother dying during her stay at Jeckyl's. When Mary goes to view the body, her mother has died with a pitiful expression on her face. We see the sorrow and the hardship in her face. Her death face is almost frightening. it scares us into thinking that death is horrible; This leads us to believe that life must be the only good. Conversely, when a debauched character dies, at the film's climax, he dies blissfully happy. Only he has truly lived, the film seems to be telling us.

"Mary Reilly" isn't a great film even though it should be. It's drabness is enough to put the most serious film-goer off and those who aren't expecting high art will be put off by the film's intellectual tone anyway. The plot could be much better if it found a way to delve deeper. There is sub-text here worth exploring. Roberts and Malkovich leave us wanting for more with their chemistry. We want to see this story go a little bit further by their relationship going further. Frears needs to go further too. He explores some horror angles here but he often looses sight of them. He can't seem to empower them for his own good. At times, the film hints of Lynch's "Elephant Man" yet Frears can't seem to take that one extra step into the darkness of the territory. He seems to have too much trepidation here. "Mary Reilly" may gain an audience as time goes by yet one expects that only serious students of the main actors and the director will find need to view it in the future.

Note: Director of Photography is Philippe Rousselot. Score by George Fenton played by The London Symphony Orchestra.

Costumes designed by Constola Boyle. Some costumes were supplied by Peruzzi.

Filmed at Pinewood Studios, London.

The film features the reunited "Dangerous Liaisons" team of Frears, Malkovich, Hampton and Close.

Frears supplied producers with 3 separate endings for the film and they liked none of them. They hired an outside scripter to write a forth and, apparently, that's the one we see in the finale. Frears almost "denounced" the film.

Review written in 1996

Report Card

Script: B-

Acting: A+

Cinematography\Lighting: A+

Special Effects\Make Up: C+

Music: B+

Final Grade: B-