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Rating:  - I can understand why this is not a Julia Roberts classic flick
This is not the way America is accustomed to seeing Julia Roberts. She doesn't act here like she did with "Pretty Woman", "I Love Trouble", or for that matter: " America Sweethearts", "Sleeping With The Enemy", or "Hook". There's one thing missing that's in all the movies I mentioned, and that's Julia's laughter. That laugh of hers as far as I'm concerned has become her trademark. Actors and Actresses all have a trademark as far as I'm concerned. George Burns always and forever had a stogey in his mouth, Groucho Marx always with those wire-rimmed glasses, and Julia Roberts with her laugh. However, don't think because she doesn't laugh in this movie that means it isn't good, on the contrary this shows her ability to drop her Georgian accent, and trade it for an almost Irish accent, but it also shows her ability to act in crossover films which prepared her for an I believe an Oscar nomination for supporting actress for the film "Stepmom". The story line I will have to look into this further, and see if Robert Louis Stevenson had a character named Mary Reilly in his story "Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde". If it's not it's still a good suspensful flick.
Rating:  - A Twist on the Classic Horror Film
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.
Rating:  - If negative stars were a rating option, I would use them
This movie had an interesting idea going for it in the beginning, but the bad acting, bad script, bad lighting, and horrible accents, killed it. I feel I lost brain cells just watching it. The only "scary" or "disturbing" part was Malkovich's face, which hardly ever changed into a believable expression. Robert's accent changed from scene to scene with upsetting regularity, which was extremely disappointing.
If the point of this movie was to show how "misunderstood" Jeckyl and Hyde may have been, it did a thoroughly awful job.
I would recommend a root canal over this movie, as it may be less painful.
Rating:  - Half Baked, but Partially Edible
As far as filmmaking goes, this production only deserves 2 stars. However, because its classic Jekyll & Hyde source material (with its dark Freudian roots that reach into the subject of substance abuse) and the gloomy Jack-the-Ripper-in-London time period are so universally compelling, the movie is somewhat engrossing without really being effective.
I haven't read the novel on which MARY REILLY is based, but you can see the framework is there for a striking work. As the heroine is a lowly servant in the mysterious Dr. Jekyll's home, there's an element of spying involved that heightens the tension, and the role of women in Victorian times is a rich dramatic subject in itself. (Mary has few options in life and is forever treading on thin ice. When she risks listening outside her employer's door, it's a very different situation than if you or I were doing the same today.) There are no significant female characters in Stevenson's original novella, almost as if they weren't worth writing about, and telling the story from a female viewpoint opens the door for new layers of perspective.
A huge problem is that Stephen Frears fails to sustain an atmosphere that's either realistically grisly or theatrically horrifying. For one thing, although the occasional fog bank is rolled out, the lighting seems all wrong. When Mary hears noises in the night and creeps downstairs to investigate, the stairwell is lit with warm, honeyish light as if this were a sunny morning. (I don't know if this lighting is intended to flatter the actress playing Mary or not, but its as false and distracting as the clear polish that glimmers on her nails from time to time.) This sort of choice may seem minor, yet it completely undermines any air of menace. This same insensitivity to mood arises in the costuming, which is correct in its detailing but also brand-spanking-new. (When the impoverished Mary runs a scary errand, she wears a neat, sweeping tweed coat that would be perfectly at home in a Brooks Brothers or Burbury shop window today.)
These details aside, what truly derails the film is the fact that its stars don't share any chemistry. Julia Roberts is a natural sensualist while John Malkovich is coolly cerebral, and at least here, the opposites don't attract. It's also frustrating that, for some intellectual reason that may have appealed to Mr. Malkovich more than anyone else, Jekyll and Hyde aren't made to look very different. (Hyde basically looks like Jekyll with a hangover, and in need of a haircut.) This central conceit is completely jarring, and pretty much renders the drama ridiculous.
MARY REILLY was originally to be produced with Tim Burton (who ultimately chose to do ED WOOD instead) directing Winona Ryder. In this case, the idea of what might have been is far more exciting than what we finally get.
Rating: - Pleasant surprise
This was a surprise, as I didn't think Julia Roberts would ever attempt something serious and certainly not as intellectual as a costume drama. Her accent is a little hoaky, but she actually did a pretty good job here and I wish this movie was more acknowledged than it is as this is one of (if not the) few on her resume that has substance.
Instead of the traditional Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde journal entries and lab experiements, we see the good doctor falling apart from his chamber maid's perspective. Mary Reilly, a controlled, obedient woman, is busy about the house while a mysterious stranger seems to float in and out of the house. Eventually the stranger as well as the doctor (John Malcovich) take a shine to her. Both find her attractive, no question, but they're both fascinated by her and what a mystery she is. It follows the story of Jekyll and Hyde from an outsider's point of view (Mary's), and how a man is going mad with abuse of power. Glen Close even has a cameo which was all too brief.
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