Cast: Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Glenn Close, Michael Gambon
Director: Stephen Frears
Producers: Ned Tanen, Nancy Graham Tanen, and Norma Heyman
Screenplay: Christopher Hampton based on the novel by Valerie Martin
Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Music: George Fenton
U.S. Distributor: TriStar Pictures
Mary Reilly, brought to the screen by Dangerous Liaisons director Stephen Frears and Liaisons screenwriter Christopher Hampton, may be the most thought- provoking, intelligent, and disturbing motion picture version of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ever to be produced. Telling the classic split- personality story from the point-of-view of Dr. Jekyll's (John Malkovich) maid, Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts), this movie is an engrossing examination of the elemental forces that define human nature.
Those looking for a classic horror story would do better to rent a videotape of one of the earlier, more straightforward versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Despite copious quantities of spilled blood and a grotesque Jekyll-to-Hyde transformation, Mary Reilly's horror is primarily psychological. The film moves slowly, giving us time to understand the characters and their circumstances, and to absorb the wonderfully eerie atmosphere created by Frears and his cinematographer, Philippe Rousselot. From start-to-finish, Mary Reilly takes place under a shroud of gothic gloom which features benighted alleyways and fog-choked streets.
For filmmakers, it seems that the easiest way to handle the Dr. Jekyll story is to cheapen it. Witness last year's abominable Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. Frears and Hampton, however, have no intention of taking this easy way out. Instead, they wrestle with all of the difficult issues raised by the story, taking them up in a manner that never cheats the audience. Mary Reilly possesses unexpected depth and strength.
Any serious film interpretation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde must, first and foremost, explore the meaning of Jekyll's split personality. As Mary Reilly interprets it, this is not a classic conflict between good and evil -- life isn't that simple. Hyde does not represent the distillation of pure evil, just as Jekyll is not a paragon of righteousness. Each has virtues and flaws, and only together do they represent a whole person. Hyde is raw emotion -- the animal side of humanity. His passion, twisted though it may be, gives Jekyll the will to live. Through the dichotomy presented by these two characters, we are challenged to consider that perhaps it's the combination of good and evil, control and liberation, and restraint and passion that makes each of us who we are. Mary Reilly has the power to disturb because it forces us to look inside and recognize our own Jekylls and Hydes.
By using Mary as the main character, this film is also able to illustrate the transforming power of love. To be sure, Mary Reilly isn't a conventional romance, but it's a love story nevertheless. Mary loves Jekyll for his goodness, and Hyde for what she sees of herself mirrored in him. When Jekyll speaks of having a fractured soul, Mary understands his pain. Her own spirit has been crippled by her childhood torture at the hands of an abusive father (Michael Gambon). Moreover, Hyde's feelings for Mary prove to be his undoing. In the end, her gift to him is indescribably precious.
Mary Reilly triumphs because of superlative character interaction. John Malkovich, who has played just about every kind of role in his varied career, brings a different slant to his Jekyll/Hyde portrayal. His Jekyll is a tragic figure of Shakespearean proportions; his Hyde is less a monster than a misanthrope. Meanwhile, opposite Malkovich, Julia Roberts graces the screen with a tender, beautifully understated performance that dwarfs anything she has previously done. Mary is both strong and vulnerable, and Roberts, looking convincingly frumpy and uncertain, creates a poignant, tormented character. Her work here is truly eye-opening.
I suspect that many who see Mary Reilly will get a completely different movie than they're expecting. Instead of murder and mayhem (although both of these are evident), we are presented with a beautifully-textured motion picture tapestry that focuses on characters and themes rather than gory special effects. Mary Reilly is haunting, not only because of its foggy, shadowy settings, but because of the questions it encourages us to ask about ourselves and others.
© 1996 James Berardinelli