Mesmer

'Mesmer' is an odd movie. On the face of it you'd think it would work quite well – beautiful period setting, interesting character, a score by Michael Nyman and Rickman, who makes a very charismatic lead. Unfortunately it went a bit wrong somewhere down the line and, as others have pointed out, it is quite hard to define where.

For me the two main players of the cast did a great job. Rickman presented Mesmer as charming but complex; Ooms brought plenty of emotion to her role as the blind pianist. Beyond this, however, there seemed little character development not helped by the relatively short runtime.

The plot just seemed...well...dull. There was very little feeling of direction and most of the scenes were very static affairs. There also seemed to be lots of duplication of material as Mesmer treated numerous people in, what looked like, very similar ways. Occasional slapstick moments, one in particular involving a certain throat complaint coming at the end of one of the most absorbing scenes in the movie, somewhat destroyed the tone. Another was a brief appearance of a very caricatured Marie Antoinette. Both seemed rather out of place and had the effect of pushing the extraordinary events of the story into absurdity.

Watch this film for the cast alone. As for the plot: if you know a little about Mesmer before watching you may find it more absorbing but for a novice like me there seemed very little substance beneath that beautiful period setting.

Franz Anton Mesmer was the very first academic to study and explose the physical effects on 18th century at Germany, his early works called animal magnestism later know as mesmerism, this picture just contenplate some yeras over his life when he healed a blind woman called Maria Theresa Paradis, after that he was expelled from Germany and going to Paris two years later, although too short and loosing time on small details, focusing mainly in his private life this picture treat a reasonable half understand over such famous doctor who break old paradigms, he wasn't completely understood until today, fiercely committed as charlatanism by medical community he suffered until his death, valuable movie by Alan Rickman!!

First watch: 2010 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

"Mesmer" is a pretty good film. It's interesting, assuming that the film was based on some facts, to watch the increasing interest in the human mind and proverbial heart, especially their effect on the body, in the 1700s, which led up to the word of Freud and Jung a century later. The more interesting that Mesmer's perceived nonsense is in fact becoming very popular today in alternative medicine coming from the East: animal magnetism (Reiki), the harmony of the universe (Taoist belief) and the mind's effect on the body.

Amanda Ooms was good in her role as Maria Therese. Fortunately they made it easy for her to be blind by not having her walk obstacle courses. It was a pleasure to see Jan Rubes in a role other than in the children's show he did. As for the star, Rickman, it was a pleasure to see him in a title role. He's quite seductive in the film, and he uses his hands, one of this actor's greatest assets, very well. In the end, I found myself regretting very much that F.A. Mesmer had no effect on the medical profession of his day. He could have prevented a lot of suffering.

Kids today associate Alan Rickman with Professor Snape from the Harry Potter movies, and they probably find it hard to believe that he has a lighter hair color in real life and is actually quite handsome. Kids, go out and rent Mesmer, and get ready to be mesmer-ized by his sexy, non-magical charms.

There is a bit of magic in this movie, though, so Harry Potter fans will get a kick out of it when they go back and rent it to see Alan in a pre-Snape role. He plays an unorthodox physician who get pretty amazing results out of his patients, and when other doctors catch on to what he's doing, they call him any number of names from magician to charlatan. It's ironic that the women he comes across are far more interested in his methods than the men, and that more often than not, they're attracted to him more than his skill. Still, with his gorgeous '90s hairstyle and his affective way of talking, why would they be attracted to him? Ladies, rent this period piece romance. It might seem a little dated, but it's one of his yummiest roles. If he healed your panic attacks, wouldn't you have a crush on him, too?

The first time I watched this movie, I was totally hooked. Alan Rickman does a phenomenal job of portraying the eighteenth century doctor. His appearance is so entrancing, and the way he treats his patient is so seducing. With him being my favorite actor of all time, I would love being treated by him. Just the way he caressed the girl and was so gentle with her. The bottom line is, this movie was totally AMAZING, and I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Great Job, Alan! :)