Movie Rave: Hysteria

Summary:

In Victorian London, Dr. Mortimer Granville, a young doctor struggles to establish himself. He is hired by a doctor to investigate treatments for women diagnosed with female hysteria using ‘pelvic massage’. The doctor’s two daughters develop an interest in the young Dr. Granville, each tempting to woo him.

Cast:

Hugh Dancy as Granville Mortimer

Maggie Gyllenhaal as Charlotte Dalrymple

Click picture for more info!

Review:

A romantic comedy concerning the invention of the vibrator? Yes pleaseeee! 😀

And with such actors as Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rupert Everett, you have a success in the making! I recently managed to get hold of this new movie and I can’t tell you how much I loved this witty, hilarious period drama!

Set in the 1880’s, the story starts with a well-meaning doctor Granville (Hugh Dancy) looking for employment after being booted from his last position due to a disagreement with his old-fashioned boss. He ends up working for a Dr. Robert Dalrymple in what the movie delicately terms as ‘female medicine.’

In case you hadn’t heard, ‘hysteria’ was a term for a number of illnesses plaguing women in the Victorian era from headaches to paranoia to even boredom. The actual god-honest treatment? Masturbation performed on the patient by a doctor. Well, you can imagine how poor Granville felt, ‘handing’ out treatments to multiple patients daily (hehe).

But the movie handles it all surprisingly well. What could have ended up being a vulgar, cringe-worthy, inappropriate R-rated feature was instead very tastefully done with a great deal of tongue in cheek humor. We don’t see the actual process and it’s all handled as professionally as they must have been back in those days.

And my goodness, was it witty! Anyone with a love of intelligent drama will love this delightful movie. The characters were hilarious, especially Rupert Everett and the prostitute working as a maid in the doctor’s house added some naughty humor. 😉

The movie was also about more than just the invention of the famous vibrator. It looked at how archaic science was back then, women’s rights and Mortimer Granville’s struggle with doing work that means something.

As for the romance, Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal have great chemistry and it’s the typical love-hate relationship thing. He’s actually meant to marry her sister which adds to the romantic tension. She’s everything he wants demure and lady-like whereas Maggie’s character is loud, feisty and unconventional. You can imagine how things go. 😉 The only thing I can say about this movie is that the romance could have been a bit more developed. It all wrapped up so fast: one minute they were in love and next they were together without much build-up.

You may be hesitant about the content but don’t be. Overall, this is a great, witty, romantic, well-acted, well-scripted movie that is a great treat for older fans of period dramas. 😉

Historical Drama Rating: 4 and a half stars out of 5

Sexiness Rating: 4 out of 5

Hugh Dancy is always sexy and Maggie surprisingly fits well into period clothing and looks fresh and pretty. The chemistry is undeniable.

Movie Rave: The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

I remember seeing clips of this movie wayyyy back in 2006 on the Hallmark Channel and have been meaning to watch the whole thing. I recently developed a love for Romola Garai who I had seen perform marvelously in other period dramas, like Daniel Deronda, Angel and Emma.

When I got to watch this movie at last, I was so happy I did. It is seriously one of the best period dramas/historical adventure movies I have ever seen. I was literally GLUED to my seat, so into the story I didn’t take note of the time! I think it was also because the movie itself was so fast-paced, it didn’t leave time for the viewer to relax! Romola outdoes herself here as a young English convict who would do anything to be free. The story is based on true events and revolves around her attempt to escape from her prison on what would later be Australia.

The acting overall was brilliant, the settings were beautiful and realistic, the story was unpredictable and intriguing, but I have to say the best part of the whole show was Jack Davenport who plays a British naval officer who Mary uses to escape.He did a brilliant job acting as the man who falls for Mary and wants to help her despite her being ‘the enemy’ so to speak. I felt so bad for him and was just so hooked on his complicated character. I really wanted him and Mary to end up together.

The story was also very inspiring as we discover at the start that Romola’s character wasn’t a villain and was just doing whatever she could to survive harsh circumstances. Her determiniation to survive was inspring and although I didn’t agree with some of the things she did, she would never have survived if she hadn’t. She was really someone who did whatever it took and it led to her finally escaping!

Overall, this was an amazing drama, truly top-notch. I’m not sure how accurate the story was, but it was so well-told, I couldn’t help but love it. It stayed with me long after I saw it and I’m dying to see it once more! If you ever get the chance to watch this, do! You won’t regret it!

Historical Drama Rating: 5 out 5!

Sexiness Rating: 5 out 5-Seriously, with the two leading men being Jack Davenport and Alex O’Loughlin, how can you go wrong? (And guys, Romola Garai is simply lovely here :P)