Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts) is a young maid working for a prominent doctor, Dr. Henry Jekyll (John Malkovich). Mary reports to Jekyll’s butler, Mr. Poole (George Cole). Mary keeps her head down and does her work uncomplainingly. One day Dr. Jekyll sees some scars from bite marks on Mary’s neck and hand and asks her about them. Mary is reluctant to talk about her scars but eventually the two develop a rapport. Mary tells Jekyll about an instance where her abusive father (Michael Gambon) locked her in a closet with a live rat. As Jekyll’s interest in Mary’s life increases so does his odd behavior.
Jekyll calls the staff together and tells them that he has hired an assistant named Edward Hyde (John Malkovich) and that Mr. Hyde will have free rein of the house and his surgical theater and laboratory. Mary becomes curious about the new assistant. Mary’s fascination results in her following Hyde to a brothel run by Mrs. Faraday (Glenn Close). As Jeckyll becomes more depressed, Hyde becomes more violent. Mary begins to see firsthand what Hyde is capable of when he pays off the family of a young girl that he attacked for being in his way. She also learns that Mrs. Faraday is also being paid off for atrocities at the brothel being attributed to Hyde.
Hyde becomes more erratic and focuses his interest on Mary and the abusive relationship she had with her father. What started out as a cure for depression turns into a nightmare. As she confides in both men, Mary begins to learn dangerous and frightening things about Hyde and his real relationship with Dr. Jekyll.
“Mary Reilly” was released in 1996 and was directed by Stephen Frears. It is an American gothic horror film. The movie was based on the 1990 novel by Valerie Martin which in turn was inspired by the 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.
Critics didn’t like it, and the box office didn’t either, however, the movie didn’t really deserve being panned so much. It is a dark and moody film that moves slowly and is a bit melodramatic but still quite intense and atmospheric. It also has the distinction of looking at the Jekyll and Hyde case from an outsider’s point of view. Jekyll’s fascination with how Mary turned out despite the abuse she suffered from her father makes her more than just a character. She is also the main plot devise that keeps both Jekyll and Hyde clinically interested in her as part of their experiment in the human psyche.
Except for problems handling a British accent, Julia Roberts did a really good job as Mary Reilly. As for Malkovich, I’m not sure how I felt about him. They weren’t the roles that I normally attribute to his acting style. Roberts was nominated for a Razzie Award but lost to Demi Moore in “Striptease” 1996.
The transformation sequence is quick and done only once; however, it is a powerful and bizarre scene. Unfortunately, it’s rather short and at the end of the film so it gets lost in the depressive mood of the film.