Movie Has A Split Personality - Neither Is Very Good

Many of us have thought we have known people with split personalities, but none of us have had to undergo the trials of Dr. Jekyll’s maid, Mary Reilly. Unfortunately, Jekyll is not the only one to experience an identity crisis: “Mary Reilly,” the movie, seems unable to decide whether it wants to be a thriller or a psychological exploration.

Reilly (Julia Roberts) is a fascinating character, but not one the audience can easily understand. After she’s developed a relationship with the kind Dr. Jekyll (John Malkovich), she delves deeper and deeper into his dark world. Eventually, she ventures into his forbidden laboratory in search of Hyde (Jekyll has told her Hyde is an assistant), leaving the audience to wonder why.

For “Mary Reilly” to be a truly scary flick, it would have to have a protagonist with whom people can easily identify. Mary’s penchant for seeking out terror disqualifies her from that role.

“Mary Reilly” almost succeeds as a psychological suspense movie because of Mary’s interesting past. She was horribly abused by her father, an alcoholic who seemed like a different man when he was drinking. When she gets involved with the doctor and his assistant, it seems to be a classic case of repeating past abuse - except that she doesn’t know Jekyll and Hyde are the same person.

Mr. Hyde actually tries to contain himself around Mary, which throws another ingredient into the stew of ideas that make up this movie. What it comes down to is that Mary’s behavior is never explained, and it’s never frightening. It just seems really stupid.

“Mary Reilly” features cameo appearances by Bronagh Gallagher (“The Commitments,” “Pulp Fiction”) and Glenn Close as Mrs. Farraday, a deep-voiced madam. Gallagher’s presence mostly serves to point out the huge flaws in Julia Roberts’ cockney accent. Roberts’ vowels are weird enough to be distracting. Aside from the awful accent, Roberts does a decent job of looking scared.

Malkovich turns an interesting performance as the creepy, reserved Dr. Jekyll and his id, personified by Mr. Hyde. It’s easy to imagine Malkovich sitting in front of his mirror at home, practicing his savage sneer. He portrays the conflict between the doctor’s personalities, but his character works best at the end when he’s become a tragic figure.

Despite its flaws, “Mary Reilly” is fairly entertaining up to the end, when the audience realizes the story will never quite make sense. It has a good gross factor, with plenty of blood and guts, though these seem to show up for no particular reason.

It’s too bad the movie never pulled itself together, because it has the potential to be a smart suspense film. Like so many big-name Hollywood films, it never does. And those of us who enjoy a good scare will have to look elsewhere.

Grade: C+