****SPOILERS**** Somewhat altered version of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic "Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde" with the sweet kindly and understanding Doctor Jekyll, John Malkovich, having a love interest who's a housemaid Mary Reilly, Julia Roberts, at his London home where her conducts his secrets experiments.
Mary had a hard life with her being abused both psychically and mentally by her drunken father Mr. Reilly, Michael Gambon, that she in fact feels that's her lot in life and can do nothing about it. It's working at Dr.Henry Jekyll place that for the first time in her life Mary finds kindness and understanding for her many problems that includes the scars that her father gave her, like having rats chew at her, while she was a child. The fact that Dr.Jekyll takes such an interest in Mary has her boss the manager of the Jekyll house Mr. Poole, George Cole, get a bit jealous at her for his master, Dr.Jekyll, spending far more time with Mary then with him.
Mary for her part is a bit perplexed of Dr.Jekyll in his going in and out of his both house and laboratory all hours of the night as if he's hiding something that he doesn't want anyone to find out about! It's one day when Dr.Jekyll sends Mary on a errand to a cat-house in the red light district in the seedy part of London that she realizes that the good doctor is up to no good. Not that he's a customer of the place but that his special assistant at his laboratory someone named Edward Hyde has made a mess of the place,by brutalizing the hookers, every time he goes there. Mary is told by the angry cat-house Madam Mrs. Farraday, Glenn Close, that Eddie or Mr. Hyde has gotten out of hand and she can't keep covering up for him anymore. Dr.Jekyll in trying to smooth things out by giving her payoff money, so she doesn't report Eddie to the police, also asks Mrs. Farraday, through Mary, to drop in and see him at his laboratory to talk things over! As it turns out Mrs. Farraday is met at the house not by Dr. Jekyll but Mister Hyde who ends up doing her in by making her at least a head shorter!
***SPOILERS*** AS we and Mary Reilly soon find out that he mysterious Edward Hyde is really Doctor Jekyll in the flesh. The doc had been having splitting headaches of late and developed this medication for them. As things turned out the medication did stop the headaches but it turned the genteel and civil Dr.Jekyll into the murderous and sex crazed Edward or Mister Hyde! Edward Hyde for his part took a shine to Mary and unlike his other-self Doctor Jekyll he had no trouble in him not controlling himself in his feeling for her. It's when Edward Hyde attacks and kills one of the late Madam Farrady's John's or customers at her cat or whorehouse the member of British Parliament and good friend of Dr.Jekyll Sir.Danvers Carew, Claran Hinds, that the cops or London Bobbies are called in to check things out! It's discovered that the murder weapon that Hyde killed Carew with, by bashing his skull in, was Doctor Jekyll's silver plated walking stick!
***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Doctor Jekyll now knowing that his life is doomed in that his other-self, by Mister Hyde manipulating his headache medication, has completely taken over his body and asks Mary to do what he doesn't have the guts to to in her doing him in and putting an end to this mesaghas,insanity in Yiddish, once in for all. Mary in what has to be an act of eternal love does what the doctor told her to do but in that she leaves herself open in her being in the wrong place at the wrong time, at the scene of the Sir. Danvers murder, to take the rap for the crime committed by the now departed Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and having to pay for It very possibly with her life!
Mary had a hard life with her being abused both psychically and mentally by her drunken father Mr. Reilly, Michael Gambon, that she in fact feels that's her lot in life and can do nothing about it. It's working at Dr.Henry Jekyll place that for the first time in her life Mary finds kindness and understanding for her many problems that includes the scars that her father gave her, like having rats chew at her, while she was a child. The fact that Dr.Jekyll takes such an interest in Mary has her boss the manager of the Jekyll house Mr. Poole, George Cole, get a bit jealous at her for his master, Dr.Jekyll, spending far more time with Mary then with him.
Mary for her part is a bit perplexed of Dr.Jekyll in his going in and out of his both house and laboratory all hours of the night as if he's hiding something that he doesn't want anyone to find out about! It's one day when Dr.Jekyll sends Mary on a errand to a cat-house in the red light district in the seedy part of London that she realizes that the good doctor is up to no good. Not that he's a customer of the place but that his special assistant at his laboratory someone named Edward Hyde has made a mess of the place,by brutalizing the hookers, every time he goes there. Mary is told by the angry cat-house Madam Mrs. Farraday, Glenn Close, that Eddie or Mr. Hyde has gotten out of hand and she can't keep covering up for him anymore. Dr.Jekyll in trying to smooth things out by giving her payoff money, so she doesn't report Eddie to the police, also asks Mrs. Farraday, through Mary, to drop in and see him at his laboratory to talk things over! As it turns out Mrs. Farraday is met at the house not by Dr. Jekyll but Mister Hyde who ends up doing her in by making her at least a head shorter!
***SPOILERS*** AS we and Mary Reilly soon find out that he mysterious Edward Hyde is really Doctor Jekyll in the flesh. The doc had been having splitting headaches of late and developed this medication for them. As things turned out the medication did stop the headaches but it turned the genteel and civil Dr.Jekyll into the murderous and sex crazed Edward or Mister Hyde! Edward Hyde for his part took a shine to Mary and unlike his other-self Doctor Jekyll he had no trouble in him not controlling himself in his feeling for her. It's when Edward Hyde attacks and kills one of the late Madam Farrady's John's or customers at her cat or whorehouse the member of British Parliament and good friend of Dr.Jekyll Sir.Danvers Carew, Claran Hinds, that the cops or London Bobbies are called in to check things out! It's discovered that the murder weapon that Hyde killed Carew with, by bashing his skull in, was Doctor Jekyll's silver plated walking stick!
***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Doctor Jekyll now knowing that his life is doomed in that his other-self, by Mister Hyde manipulating his headache medication, has completely taken over his body and asks Mary to do what he doesn't have the guts to to in her doing him in and putting an end to this mesaghas,insanity in Yiddish, once in for all. Mary in what has to be an act of eternal love does what the doctor told her to do but in that she leaves herself open in her being in the wrong place at the wrong time, at the scene of the Sir. Danvers murder, to take the rap for the crime committed by the now departed Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and having to pay for It very possibly with her life!