Mary Reilly

Starring: Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Michael Gambon, Kathy Staff, Glenn Close, Michael Sheen, Bronagh Gallagher, Ciaran Hinds
Directed by: Stephen Frears
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A maid (Julia Roberts) goes to work for Dr. Jekyll and soon begins to suspect something odd is occurring in his laboratory.

Review:

Tim: It seems like there was a lot of potential for Mary Reilly. I love the idea of telling the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the perspective of their maid. This also allows director Stephen Frears to tell a gothic horror story, a challenging, moody period drama with strong horror overtures. When I sat down to watch the movie, I was genuinely excited. I liked it for good stretches, too. Unfortunately, it slowly begins to dawn on you that something isn't quite right. The ingredients might mostly be correct, but they don't blend well enough together. I ultimately felt that while this is a decent movie, Mary Reilly never lives up to its potential. I was disappointed with the movie, in the end.

Maybe we should start with the cast. I appreciate Julia Roberts for trying something out of her comfort zone, but this was not a good role for her. Her accent is never believable. She gives a too-restrained performance. It ultimately feels too wooden, too boring. Her character is interesting because of the writing and her character's backstory. Roberts does nothing to add to this. I didn't really care about her character at all, other than sympathy for her childhood. She doesn't bring the audience in or establish any kind of emotional connect. John Malkovich might seem a bit better, but his performance isn't great, either. It's a meaty role because he gets to play two very different men (albeit in the same body). The range he shows is impressive, but Malkovich never seems to be giving it his all. His characters were surprisingly dull. I was also shocked when I read that this was supposed to also be a romance and that some of the plot points highlight the maid falls in love with Jekyll and Hyde. I never got that sense from the movie for a moment. That's probably because of the total lack of chemistry between Roberts and Malkovich. It's nonexistent, zero. This never felt like a romance for a second. Sure, some of the characters might express feelings, but Roberts' lack of any worthwhile emotion kills that immediately. They are both solid actors, but they were a terrible match here. This hurts the movie immensely.

The supporting cast is actually fairly solid. George Cole did a good job in a smaller, antagonist role. I liked seeing Michael Sheen in a small role. Michael Gambon certainly made his character memorable. I really enjoyed seeing Ciaran Hinds, although I lamented that his role was far too small. I was surprised by how much I disliked Glenn Close's performance. She seems way too over-the-top. It felt like her performance was one-note and did not contribute to the overall film.

The movie certainly seems to take its time getting to the conclusion. Some of the early slowness is due to character development, but Frears' film certainly seems content to amble along. It eventually starts to feel predictable and monotonous. We're treated to so many of the same scenes- Jekyll asks Mary to do something, Mr. Poole disapproves, the other servants banter. That's like half the movie right there. I didn't quite believe how they introduced Mr. Hyde. He looks a bit different than Jekyll, but it blows my mind that none of the other characters asked the right questions. It strained our credulity a bit too far. The ending of the film felt anticlimactic. We get one cool visual of the Jekyll/Hyde transformation process, but the movie doesn't end on a high note. It all felt quite hollow by the conclusion.

I think Stephen Frears is a talented director, so the movie isn't all bad. I appreciated the exploration of these characters and they did eventually become memorable in my mind. I might not have liked any of them, but I appreciated getting to step into this household and learn about those living there. The visuals are atmospheric and support the story. Frears is talented at bringing out the drama, which I thought worked far more often than it didn't.

Mary Reilly is definitely a decent movie- I never considered it bad for a second. I enjoyed large parts of it. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite pay off in a satisfactory manner. I'd consider this decent, but it's not a good movie. With the level of talent involved, there's no way to claim this movie met expectations.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, Sleepy Hollow