Mary Reilly
with Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, George Cole
Directed by Stephen Frears
(Tristar Pictures)
by Paul E. Lee
Do you hunger for dark, atmospheric suspense films? Do you enjoy movies that ride the rails between horror and Gothic thriller? Do you like to white-knuckle it through a celluloid masterpiece? Well, forget director Stephen (Dangerous Liaisons) Frears’ Mary Reilly. This is not the film you seek.
Shot on location in Scotland, Mary Reilly seemed to have all the trappings of a classic thriller with its unique retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Unfortunately, the film fails to inject any fear into the veins.
Because the story of Jekyll and Hyde is one of my favorites, I went to Mary Reilly with a positive bent, even though I never understood the appeal of the over-rated Julia Roberts. Stevenson’s story has always intrigued me and I’ve seen nearly all the versions of it, from Fredrich March to Michael Caine. Since Mary Reilly took a new perspective on the tale – as seen through the eyes of Jekyll’s maid – it had, at least, a good shot at avoiding the usual pitfalls of rehashed remakes. Just maybe this movie would succeed where Coppola’s Dracula and Branagh’s Frankenstein, with all their goofy pretentiousness, didn’t.
Based on the book by author Valerie Martin, the premise of the story and script were intriguing. As Mary Reilly, Julia Roberts, with an Irish brogue, isn’t bad. She’s believable enough as the emotionally scarred maid who becomes Jekyll’s confidant and the object of Hyde’s lust. John Malkovich is adequate, but he’s delivered better and eerier performances (i.e. as the warped villain in In The Line of Fire). His Mr. Hyde is creepy, but not terrifying. As Jekyll, he hasn’t much room to perform. Glenn Close shows up with her overwrought but funny performance as the madam of a brothel.
Mary Reilly loses its grip on viewers within the first half hour. For all its dark lighting and gloomy atmosphere, real tension and fear are sorely lacking. Instead of instilling fear and foreboding, the movie deteriorates into dreariness. If Julia Roberts hoped to show her worth in a Gothic horror film, she failed. It’s been a while since a good version of Jekyll and Hide arrived. Hopefully, future filmakers will learn from Frears’ mistakes.
