Mary Reilly

Frears' attempt to crate a horror drama with a well-known story would not be remarkable whatsoever without Julie Roberts and John Malkovich in the lead roles. Both stars give excellent performances. Malkovich managed Dr. Jekyll's split personality without any problems - on the one hand, a reserved and introverted scientist, on the other a pervert and a bestial animal... Julia's Mary is surprisingly not remarkable in appearance, yet quiet and balanced goodness literally emanates from her. The combination of these two (three) people creates a rather watchable drama, in which Frears' contribution is limited to a few successful jump scares and a lot of fog. The atmosphere of the film barely works, which is a big scar on the beauty given the environment and the story. And the unfinished script will also not warm the viewer's soul ... (03.10.2004)

The point of the story is known to us all, so the viewer's experience cannot be based on it. However, John Malkovich's demonic performances are, and his monologue from Mary's dream is a true example of acting mastery. Julia Roberts is beautiful and sad here, and her veiled gaze did not allow me to be unsympathetic towards her. In addition, Frears did an excellent job of depicting a strongly depressive and gloomy atmosphere of the house and the city, thus creating an unconventional view of the legendary source material. (19.06.2006)