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Mary Reilly
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Often labeled as the one "misstep" in the career of Julia Roberts, I've always been curious to see "Mary Reilly". It is not a mis-step as much as it simply may not have been the best choice. Roberts is a great actress who is stronger with drama than her roles would have us believe, but she has an energy and presence that this role doesn't allow to show. She has a good, subtle performance here, but it just doesn't feel right for the actress.
Of course, this is the tale of Dr. Jekyl (played by John Malkovich) and the new housekeeper in his house, Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts). Jekyl becomes curious about Mary after seeing scars on her arms and seeing that he can read. Early in, Dr. Jekyl announces to the rest of the house that he has taken on an assistant, Mr. Edward Hyde (again, Malkovich). And, so it begins.
Strangely, both of the characters that are played by Malkovich look close to one another. Roberts' accident also goes in and out like a radio station with bad reception. This is a a picture that gets the gothic look of the story perfectly right, but it desperately needs a kick of energy. Roberts underplays the role, and although she does at least try, again, this isn't right for her. Malkovich also doesn't seem quite as energetic as he could have been in the role. At his best, I thought I was watching "Being Dr. Jekyl".
The movie has moments, but tries to build such an overly gloomy tone that it eventually takes the picture down with it, keeping the score as the only element that is allowed to show much emotion. This could have been a fine telling of the tale - it certainly has all of the elements, but it just doesn't let itself light the spark it could.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Mary Reilly" is not a particularly stunning film visually; the majority of the film is barely lit, and the gloomy, misty interiors sometimes simply seem hazy. Still, with the excellent work that Columbia/Tristar does, even the darker sequences (which in this film are really dark) do not lack clarity.
Sharpness varies, although the picture seems to have been filmed with an intentionally soft look to it. Detail is fairly good, although it it stronger in some scenes than others. Slight pixelation is visible on a couple of occasions, and a handful of slight print flaws do pop up. These are minor faults though, and I didn't really find them distracting.
Colors? Well, there really aren't any colors in the film besides red. The majority of the rest of the picture seems to be mainly brown, grey or black. It's tough to make a gloomy film like this one look good, and Tristar has nicely cut through the mists.
SOUND: The film delivers a suprisingly good Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtrack that highlights the haunting score, which is often impressively rich and strong. Surrounds do carry some subtle sounds, but mainly do very well with the score. Thankfully, the filmmakers have decided to really give the score a strong presence, and it helps to build at least some tension when the story itself otherwise fails to deliver it.
I was pleased with the amount of background sounds delivered; they give the haunting interiors a sense of space that's pleasing. Last but not least, I found dialogue to be clear and easily understood, even the accents. A good soundtrack that I was suprised by.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with basic film-themed images serving as the layout.
EXTRAS: Trailer for "Mary Reilly", talent files, production notes and a short promotional featurette.
Final Thoughts: May be worth a rental for fans of the actors; provides a few good moments, but a lot of flat space between those.
Often labeled as the one "misstep" in the career of Julia Roberts, I've always been curious to see "Mary Reilly". It is not a mis-step as much as it simply may not have been the best choice. Roberts is a great actress who is stronger with drama than her roles would have us believe, but she has an energy and presence that this role doesn't allow to show. She has a good, subtle performance here, but it just doesn't feel right for the actress.
Of course, this is the tale of Dr. Jekyl (played by John Malkovich) and the new housekeeper in his house, Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts). Jekyl becomes curious about Mary after seeing scars on her arms and seeing that he can read. Early in, Dr. Jekyl announces to the rest of the house that he has taken on an assistant, Mr. Edward Hyde (again, Malkovich). And, so it begins.
Strangely, both of the characters that are played by Malkovich look close to one another. Roberts' accident also goes in and out like a radio station with bad reception. This is a a picture that gets the gothic look of the story perfectly right, but it desperately needs a kick of energy. Roberts underplays the role, and although she does at least try, again, this isn't right for her. Malkovich also doesn't seem quite as energetic as he could have been in the role. At his best, I thought I was watching "Being Dr. Jekyl".
The movie has moments, but tries to build such an overly gloomy tone that it eventually takes the picture down with it, keeping the score as the only element that is allowed to show much emotion. This could have been a fine telling of the tale - it certainly has all of the elements, but it just doesn't let itself light the spark it could.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Mary Reilly" is not a particularly stunning film visually; the majority of the film is barely lit, and the gloomy, misty interiors sometimes simply seem hazy. Still, with the excellent work that Columbia/Tristar does, even the darker sequences (which in this film are really dark) do not lack clarity.
Sharpness varies, although the picture seems to have been filmed with an intentionally soft look to it. Detail is fairly good, although it it stronger in some scenes than others. Slight pixelation is visible on a couple of occasions, and a handful of slight print flaws do pop up. These are minor faults though, and I didn't really find them distracting.
Colors? Well, there really aren't any colors in the film besides red. The majority of the rest of the picture seems to be mainly brown, grey or black. It's tough to make a gloomy film like this one look good, and Tristar has nicely cut through the mists.
SOUND: The film delivers a suprisingly good Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtrack that highlights the haunting score, which is often impressively rich and strong. Surrounds do carry some subtle sounds, but mainly do very well with the score. Thankfully, the filmmakers have decided to really give the score a strong presence, and it helps to build at least some tension when the story itself otherwise fails to deliver it.
I was pleased with the amount of background sounds delivered; they give the haunting interiors a sense of space that's pleasing. Last but not least, I found dialogue to be clear and easily understood, even the accents. A good soundtrack that I was suprised by.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with basic film-themed images serving as the layout.
EXTRAS: Trailer for "Mary Reilly", talent files, production notes and a short promotional featurette.
Final Thoughts: May be worth a rental for fans of the actors; provides a few good moments, but a lot of flat space between those.
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