26 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
26 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
the jekyll and hyde story told from his maid's point of view is , in a word , " dark " .
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you wouldn't expect something bright and cheery based on robert louis stevenson's novel , but the film is surprisingly dreary and dismal .
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jekyll/hyde ( john malkovich ) is terminally depressed and desperate .
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mary reilly ( julia roberts ) is a victim of monstrous child abuse and the anti-woman sentiment of the times .
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director stephen fears' version of the london slums makes us marvel that anyone survived them .
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the lighting level is exceedingly low throughout the movie : it almost appears to be filmed in black and white .
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the direction and cinematography are brilliant and liquid .
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scenes flow into the next scene like honey oozing off a strawberry .
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( except there's no red , of course . )
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the look is so moody and melodramatic that you'll be shocked when you leave the theater .
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i saw it at a matinee and took quite a while to adjust to the sunny skies afterward .
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often the jekyll and hyde archetypes are viewed as splitting a whole person into components of good and evil or perhaps cerebral and emotional parts .
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here the doctor is intellectual and perhaps good , but certainly powerless .
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his alter ego is forceful and totally without conscience .
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two parts that make up a whole .
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neither are capable of functioning without the other and once separated , disaster is inevitable .
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the differences between the two characters would be more effective if it were accomplished by demeanor and attitude .
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when we finally see the transformation , the special effects thrust the story into the realm of science fiction , not the psychological horror that the tale demands .
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roberts and malkovich are skillful in their roles .
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both are suitably melancholy , fitting in with the rest of the film .
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the only flash of life and color comes from glenn close ( and her lips ) as the madam of a whorehouse where hyde lives , and surprisingly , jekyll apparently frequents .
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life and color maybe , but this is not close's best role .
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she seems little more than a cardboard cutout character .
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a beautiful film in its own dreary way .
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you'll appreciate the filmmaking craft , but don't expect to leave in an upbeat mood .
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