MARY REILLY (1996)

Starring: Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Kathy Staff and Michael Gambon. Screenplay by Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Valerie Martin. Directed by Steven Frears. USA. 108 minutes.

This movie by Stephen Frears (director of the Existentialist Gangster pic The Hit)  is the latest to take an "art film" approach to Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , previous efforts including (but not limited to) Brian Clemens' Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde and Walerian Borowcyz's Dr. Jekyll and His Women. There's seems to something about Stevenson's tale of split personality that lends itself to personal, psychologically bold interpretations by filmmakers, but unlike some rather slipshod reworkings of the classic novella (such as 1989's curiously unaffecting Edge of Sanity) this one hits the mark for the most part. Here the familiar story is told from the perspective of the title character (Roberts), a charwoman living and working in the home of one Dr. Henry Jekyll (Malkovich). Before long she finds herself falling most unprecipitously in love, not only with the good doctor but also with his handsome by nasty assistant Edward Hyde. Both Jekyll and Hyde find themselves drawn to Mary as well, the latter explaining - in a rare tender moment -  that she is the only thing that can quell his terrible rage  and monstrous compulsion to commit acts of unspeakable evil.

Beaten mercilessly by her surly alcoholic father (Gambon) and locked in a dark closet with gnawing rats which left angry scars on her wrist and even deeper ones in her soul, Mary is a true survivor who inhabits a world of nightmarish ugliness, shocking horrors and cold, passionless people. But unlike her spiritual brother, the bizzarely coiffured Henry (Jack Nance) in David Lynch's Eraserhead , Mary has yet to succumb to the numbness that for some is the only avenue of escape from a bleak and hideous reality. She possesses an innocence and purity of spirit in spite of her painful past and grim present. Hyde is fascinated by Mary and finds himself drawn to her accepting and forgiving nature. After all, if she can forgive a man who beat her as a child, might she not also be willing to pardon one who stomps a little girl underfoot in the street? Yeah, in his own way Hyde is seeking absolution for his sins.

Mary Reilly benefits from the rather novel approach of re-telling a familiar story from the point of view of a someone who would normally be of little or no importance; a trivial background character. Through Mary we are allowed a brief, fleeting, but fascinating glimpse into the mysterious, violent world of Jekyll and Hyde. Visually speaking this is truly gorgeous- looking film, reminiscent in many ways of Freddie Francis' Hammer horror movies, with production design and cinematography (by Philippe Rousselot) that vividly render 19th century Edinburgh, a world of ugliness and squalor by day, glowing gaslights and fog by night. The faces of the actors, particularly the supporting players, are caked in heavily stylized make-up, lending them a caricature-like, cartoon-ish quality (Roberts herself has the appearance of a rather pretty-looking ghoul). In fact, the only one who isn't covered in heavy make-up is Malkovich when he's playing Hyde, his only form of accouterment being a long black wig.

Despite it's rather sluggish pace in parts, Mary Reilly is really quite gripping for the most part, a suitably solid entry in the "horror art film" sub-genre, with a cast that is (for the most part) right on the money. Malkovich is utterly convincing his dual roles, and slick enough a craftsman to subtly show flickers of the one glimmering just under the surface of the other, never letting us doubt that we're dealing with the split halves of one whole man. His Jekyll is a stodgy, anal retentive, but altruistic bachelor whose shyness and timidity prevent him from connecting with the outside world in any meaningful, satisfying way. Here  Hyde is presented as a means to an end, a way for Jekyll to temporarily rid himself of his inhibitions and plunge into the night a vibrant, primal beast, pulsing with life and insatiable appetites.

Roberts (who is normally so cloyingly "cute" I want to strangle the bitch) actually delivers a pretty convincing performance as the quiet, understated Mary. The only weak link here cast-wise is the presence of that ugly, annoying soft-core porn banning bitch Glenn Close in a hammy turn as a whorehouse madam. Luckily, Close isn't around to annoy for very long before Malkovich's Hyde takes her Liberal-Fascist  ass out. It's a shame that this bold and ballsy big budget Hollywood horror movie tanked at the box office (due, I'm guessing, to the fact that the Pretty Woman crowd aren't exactly what you'd call horror fans), but perhaps it will get the attention it deserves on video, DVD and cable. The 1932 Rouben Mamoulian Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde still wears the crown, but Mary Reilly is still well worth investigating.

Final Baron rating: *** Three Laboratory Beakers Full of Maggots

* Dead meat, ripe n' reeking.
** Moribund, but showing a slight flicker of life.
*** Good and healthy!
**** Brimming with vitality!