History Film / MaryReilly

The film stars Creator/JohnMalkovich as both Jekyll and Hyde and Creator/JuliaRoberts as Mary. Based on a novel by Valerie Martin, which was nominated for a UsefulNotes/{{Nebula|Award}} and UsefulNotes/WorldFantasyAward.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Jekyll is quietly infatuated with the redheaded Mary, and his desire carries over to and multiplies in Hyde.

* AssholeVictim: Mrs. Faraday is a sneering brothel madam who recruits poor girls (many of them in their teens) to work as prostitutes, Sir Danvers Carew is an arrogant and hypocritical politician who is her most avid customer.

* {{Bishonen}}: Hyde, in contrast to his original monstrous description; he's basically a younger and more energetic version of Jekyll, with long dark hair and blue eyes.

* LivingADoubleLife: Can you guess who? Jekyll takes pains to set things up so that none of his servants can learn the truth, and so that Hyde has carte blanche to indulge himself.

* AbusiveParents: Mary's father whipped her with his belt for breaking a cup once. It's implied he may have raped her as well. Mary's mother actually knew nothing about it since she worked all day. Mary does say that her father was nice to her before he started drinking.

* LivingADoubleLife: Can you guess who? Jekyll takes pains to set things up so that no one can impede Hyde
* PerspectiveFlip: Told entirely from the perspective of Mary and the servants.

* ShirtlessScene: Jekyll and Hyde towards the end.

* ShrinkingViolet: Mary hardly dares to stutter some conversation.

* TruerToTheText: The film is more faithful to the original novel than a lot of the adaptations. Obviously besides Mary as a POV character.
* WhatNowEnding: [[spoiler: Mary walks out of Jekyll's house, presumably to find another position, uncertain of her future now]].

''Mary Reilly'' is about an Irish maid in Henry Jekyll's household who becomes the confidant and love interest of Jekyll, the unwilling accomplice and object of lust for Edward Hyde and the holder of the suspension of disbelief for the audience, since by now [[ItWasHisSled everyone and their grandmother knows the doctor's little secret]].

Then Jekyll begins to ask Mary to run errands for him -- some less than tasteful, such as delivering a letter to Mrs. Farraday, the madame of a brothel, in order that his assistant can rent a room. While up late one night, Mary witnesses the self same assistant handing over a cheque for blood money after seriously inuring a young girl. And when she finally meets the enigmatic Mr. Hyde, the lives of maid, master and the dangerous man who holds them both in his thrall soon spiral out of control...

* AffectionateNickname: Mrs Farraday refers to the doctor as Harry.

* AntiClimax: Much like in the original novel, Hyde commits suicide.

* {{Bishonen}}: Hyde, in contrast to his original monstrous description.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Mrs Farraday is the blonde and the other maid Annie is brunette to contrast with Mary's redhead.

* CantGetAwayWithNothing: Poole will ''not'' cut Mary a break for ''anything.'' Even an offhand remark to Jekyll about worrying that he's working too hard earns her a rebuke for "presuming she can tell the Master how to do his job."

* ClarkKenting: Actually done pretty convincingly here. Only a change in hairstyle and mannerisms distinguish Jekyll from Hyde, but since Hyde doesn't interact very much with Jekyll's staff apart from Mary he can get away with it. That said, some of the servants do discuss the close physical resemblance between them and gossip about how they might be related (there's talk that Hyde could be an illegitimate son). It also does say something about John Malkovich's acting ability that he is able to make Jekyll and Hyde seem like very different people. He also wore blue contacts to play Jekyll, adding another difference.
* CostumePorn: Mrs Farraday's costumes. These are in direct contrast to the plain and dowdy clothes that the servants wear.

%% DullSurprise: Mary most of the time, although she does liven up a tad at the end.

* TheFilmOfTheBook: Based on a 1990 novel by Valerie Martin.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Mary's scars are on the hands and around the neck but they are easily covered up by her clothes and her face is untouched. Of course since the scars came from a rat biting her, it makes sense she'd cover her face while it was doing so.

%% HeroesWantRedheads: Jekyll/Hyde to Mary.

* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: When Mrs Kent talks about a maid who was summoned to the master's room every day, Bradshaw remarks "I expect she now entertains gentlemen at all hours of the day"

* LivingADoubleLife: Can you guess who?

* SailorEarth: Mary herself is one. In the original novel, only Jekyll's butler was named so it was of course very easy for Valerie Martin to insert Mary into the story.

Then Jekyll begins to ask Mary to run errands for him -- some less than tasteful, such as delivering a letter to Mrs. Farraday, the madame of a brothel, in order that his assistant can rent a room. While up late one night, Mary witnesses the self same assistant handing over a cheque for blood money after seriously inuring a young girl. And when she finally meets the enigmatic Mr. Hyde, the lives of maid, master and his grim shadow soon spiral out of control...

While at first Mary and Jekyll are very aware of their social stations as servant and master, they gradually growing closer as Mary unbends to him and shares her traumatic past. Soon there's a shakeup in the household, as the doctor announces that he plans to have a new assistant, and his staff are naturally curious about this new man -- especially since they never seem to be able to catch a glimpse of him.

Then Jekyll begins to ask Mary to run errands for him -- some less than tasteful, such as delivering a letter to Mrs. Farraday, the madame of a brothel, in order that his assistant can rent a room. While up late one night, Mary witnesses the self same assistant handing over a cheque for blood money after seriously inuring a young girl. And when she finally meets the enigmatic Mr. Hyde, things soon spiral out of control for all three of them...

''Mary Reilly'' is about an Irish maid in Henry Jekyll's household who becomes the confidant and love interest of Jekyll, the unwilling accomplice and object of lust for Edward Hyde and the suspension of disbelief replacement for the audience, since by now [[ItWasHisSled everyone and his grandmother knows the doctor's little secret]].

The film starts with Mary and Jekyll gradually growing closer despite their social stations, as Mary unbends to him and tells him how her father used to beat her for breaking cups and locked her in a cupboard under the stairs with rats. Happy days. Naturally such happiness cannot last, as the doctor announces that he plans to have a new assistant. Of course the audience knows where this is heading, but the staff are naturally curious about this new man, especially since they never seem to be able to catch a glimpse of him.

Then, Jekyll begins to ask Mary to run errands for him - some less than tasteful, such as delivering a letter to Mrs. Farraday, the madame of a brothel, in order that his assistant can rent a room. Up late one night, Mary witnesses the self same assistant handing over a cheque for blood money. And when she finally meets the enigmatic Mr. Hyde, things soon spiral out of control for all three of them...