Julia Roberts plays Mary Reilly, a housemaid with a troubled past who works in the home of Dr. Henry Jekyll, played by John Malkovich. The sickly Dr. Jekyll and the plucky Mary begin to develop a friendship much to the chagrin of the butler of the house, Mr. Poole (George Cole). The situation becomes even more difficult with the addition of the doctor's new assistant, Mr. Edward Hyde. The man is violent and without morals or manners. He takes advantage of Mary's kindness and makes indecent proposals to her at every opportunity. When Hyde goes too far and people wind up dead, it's up to Mary to try and save Dr. Jekyll from his fate. Can Mary summon the courage to battle the will Mr. Hyde and her terrible past as well?

First of all, I can't tell you the amount of courage I had to summon up in order to sit through a movie starring Julia Roberts. She just bugs me, what can I say? I was very reluctant to give this one a chance due to her presence. But then I figured that an accomplished director such as Frears couldn't really screw up a horror flick or could he? Well, let's take a look at this 1996 box office bomb and see if it’s worth our time.

Frears filmmaking is quality stuff. The lavish setting, the compelling camerawork, and the tight editing are all excellent attributes to the movie. The performances from all of the actors are fine. Roberts does let her mangled Irish accent slip several times but otherwise, I enjoyed the charm and complexity she brings to the role. Malkovich boils in his usual intensity in his dual role. No complaints there. I could have used more scenes with Glenn Close as the slimy madam of the local brothel, Mrs. Farraday.

I have to admit that I like Mary Reilly. Sure, the plot looks contrived on paper, but this a fine piece of cinema nonetheless. My biggest is complaint is the awful (and I do mean awful) use of CG effects in the climax of the story which is completely at odds with the rest of the effects in the film. I guess that kind of garbage was impressive in 1996 but the whole scene will look even sillier as the years go by.

If you're curious and happen to dig a little Jekyll/Hyde action now and then, give Mary Reilly a shot. It's pretty darn good. There are a couple of flaws but they don't necessarily bring the entire movie down. There are even a few gory moments thrown in. If I can overcome my aversion to Julia Roberts for a little under two hours, then I guess that's saying something to the film’s credit.