Mary Reilly
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Movie Reviews of Mary Reilly
Movie Review: Awesome!
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely loooove this movie! Julia Roberts' BEST performance is right here folks! And John Malkovich just makes it so insanely amazing! Trust me when I say that if you liked From Hell or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, you will LOVE this movie!Movie Review: Mary Reilly
Summary: 5 Stars
Julia Roberts and John Malkovich were great together. It kept me on the toes through out the whole movie.Movie Review: The Battle between Good & Evil has Many Victims& One Witness
Summary: 4 Stars
Rat's teeth tearing at the innocent flesh of a 12 year old girl. Unheard screams, echoing from the tiny closet. This is the punishment administered by an evil father when his sex toy daughter, Mary, allowed a cup to shatter on the dirty floor of the father's sin infected lair. Mary's servant mother protected her daughter by placing her in the impersonal world of service where Mary continued to be a thing to be managed. She was the least significant member of an impersonal housekeeping staff consisting of the butler (Mr. Pool), the cook (Mrs. Kent), and two additional servants (Bradshaw and Annie) whose primary concerns were class and station.
Only her employer, Dr. Jekyll, treated Mary as if she were a person, rather than a thing to be used or manipulated. Yet, Jekyll's strange interest in Mary's scars caused him to learn of the emotional and physical abuse inflicted by her father. "It was like he carried another person inside of him and the drinking brought him out," Mary said, trying to find an excuse for her father's cruelty. "Or maybe set him free," added the doctor, who was taking an increasingly keen interest in Mary's past and in the violent and uncontrollable side of human's nature. He also asked if her father had abused her sexually. Slowly, Mary began to open up to Dr. Jekyll and the two became close. However, Mary soon discovered strange secrets about the doctor, including nightly outings to the laboratory and visits to a seedy bordello run by a vicious madam called Mrs. Farraday.
One day, Dr. Jekyll announced to his housekeeping staff that his new colleague, Edward Hyde, might be dropping by unexpectedly, from time to time, and told them not to be alarmed by his presence. Mary was soon fascinated by Jekyll's assistant, for he was younger and stronger than Jekyll, though he carried an air of danger with him all the time. Mary was fascinated but also frightened by her new employer, while the doctor seemed to take a personal interest in her that went far beyond mere professional courtesy (much to the annoyance of Mr. Poole, Jekyll's servant). Mary did not realize at first that Mr. Hyde was the darker side of Jekyll's personality.
Jekyll wanted Mary to get closer to him and gave her errands and clues to make her discover what was going on inside of him. He sent Mary with a message to Mrs. Farraday at the brothel, thus making her aware of his sexual needs and demands. Her second errand to the brothel led her to find the carnage of a murdered whore, including blood on the ceiling and a disemboweled rat, and Mary began to sense the relationship between her story and this evil rage. Hyde told Mary about the doctor's desire to touch her and fondle her breasts and his inability to do so, as well as the anger this caused. Still, Mary did not understand that Hyde was expressing that anger by perpetrating brutal killings. Despite Mary's close collaboration with Dr. Jekyll and her fascination with his charming "assistant" Hyde, she was unable to realize the true nature of their relationship until Dr. Jekyll revealed his secret to Mary and admitted: "I had a fracture in my soul. It seems that this [fracture] has caused me to have a taste for oblivion."
Dr. Jekyll revealed that he depended on a 'cure' to turns him back from his evil side to his good side and sent his servant, Mr. Poole, to the chemist to ask for the formula and the ingredients of that cure. Unfortunately, the lab had been destroyed and there was no formula and no ingredients. Dr. Jekyll began to realize that if he was left without the cure for this uncontrollable evilness, there would be more bloodshed, and more killings, for his evil side would prevail. The Doctor decided to hide himself in his laboratory away from the police who were chasing him for his committed crimes. Mary packed her things and decided to move away, but her steps moved her towards the lab, where the doctor was hiding. When Hyde saw her, he was excited and full of anger and that anger was threatening Mary's life. At this point, he decided to put an end to this long battle between his good and evil sides. Hyde mixed poison with the last dose of 'cure' thus allowing the doctor one last moment with Mary.
Movie Review: A Twist on the Classic Horror Film
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie has an interesting twist on the classic horror film. We are able to watch what transpires within the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the view of a chambermaid's perspective. This chambermaid, Mary Reilly, is played quite well by Julia Roberts. Mary Reilly is a poor girl who had a horrible childhood and feels the safety of security brought about by working in the house of a rich and distinguished doctor. Of course unlike normal servants of the time, she is able to read and becomes very inquisitive about her masters business. Mr. John Malkovich does a perfect job of showing the ongoing conflict between good and evil contained within each of us in his portrayal of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As the good doctor he is a kindly man of science. But as Mr. Hyde all his inhabitations are gone, as are his morals and conscience.
This film takes the horror film and turns into a film that keeps you suspended in the dark as you watch the mystery unfold for the chambermaid. The movie is not a true classic horror film or one of the modern films of gore. Do not expect to be frighten and do not be surprised when the audience seems to be the only ones that can see it is obvious that Dr. Jekyll is Mr. Hyde. Other then that, both leads give a satisfactory performance and the film is worth watching.
Movie Review: Nothing Wrong With A Little Subtly
Summary: 4 Stars
I am glad to see other reviewers praising this "underrated" film. I figured I was the only person who actually liked it, but I guess not. All the national critics sure hated this low-key retelling of Jekyll and Hyde. Despite critics' comments to contrary, I found this an intelligent adaptation of the famous story.
The muted colors with the grey overtones caught my eye and were very interesting to observe. Julia Roberts also was interesting to watch: no makeup, no smile, just sad, somber looks yet still appealing.
People don't care for subtly in films anymore. They want in-your-face smash-ups, gore, violent conflicts....and a lot of it. This movie is extremely low-key.
I have to admit that it's hard to believe Roberts' character "Mary Reilly" would not recognize Jekyll from Hyde (played by John Malkovich) when he didn't change facial appearances! And, yes, the film, generally-speaking, is a real downer. Yet, for some odd reason, despite the above paragraph, I recommend the film to people who enjoy slower films and slow suspense, even if they have to suspend a little believability. I thought it was oddly fascinating.