Jekyll and Hyde

A rather refreshing retelling of the classic tale. Being somehow innocent of the modern Hollywood same same makes it easy watching & hopeful, Enjoyed it late at night with a glass of G&T.

This classic tale never makes a good movie, which is unfortunate. The twist offered the director/writers an opportunity to really push the storyline and explore new themes.

But that didn't happen.

I actually spent most of the movie texting a friend how much fun this movie could be as a MST3K film, only because it would be tolerable to watch with the witty banter.

Steve Lawson delivers once more an intelligent, dialogue-heavy, atmospheric period piece - this time with a twist on 'The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde' novella.

Michael McKell is very good as the titular character (and sings the excellent closing theme too - a very talented individual). My only gripe is probably a very personal one; during moments of humour - and there is a handful amidst this grim tale - we are treated to strains of 'comedy music'. Plink plonks accompany each sideward glance and awkward smile. It's unnecessary - don't do it (this is general advice, not exclusive to this production)!

The fairly sizable tweaks that have been made to the classic original story seem mainly to allow the low budget to adequately convey events (shades of early Hammer classic adaptions). Therefore, there are many scenes, especially near the end, where characters spend a great deal of time explaining the plot and gloating over their cleverness. An interesting spin - not perfect of course, but a production given the care and attention that's become associated with Steve Lawson's projects. My score is 7 out of 10.

To all intents and purposes this is unwatchable except possibly as a cure for insomnia. To say the acting was wooden would be an understatement, whoever was playing the lawyers wife was really bad. The pace was glacial and the dialogue pathetic. Direction was similarly wanting in skill and talent. So in fact there is nothing to recommend this movie at all really. Fortunately I did not buy it but got it from a library FOC. I would recommend avoiding the movie and watching paint dry or grass grow as an alternative as this will prove much more entertaining and less expensive in the long run. Good luck.

Not the most exciting thing to watch but still somewhat enjoyable.

Grab yourself a bucket of popcorn and settle in on a rainy afternoon. Watch out for the right hook!