Mary Reilly

Mary Reilly is a 1996 American gothic horror film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Julia Roberts and John Malkovich. It was written by Christopher Hampton and adapted from the 1990 novel of the same name by Valerie Martin (itself inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde). It reunited director Frears, screenwriter Hampton, and actors Malkovich and Glenn Close, who were involved in the Oscar-winning Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Mary Reilly was theatrically released by TriStar Pictures on February 23, 1996 to poor reviews. It was a box office bomb, making just $12 million against its $47 million budget. Plot Mary Reilly comes to work as a maid in the household of Dr. Henry Jekyll. She and Jekyll develop a rapport and he begins to call on her for assistance, to the consternation of his butler, Poole. Jekyll is fascinated by scars Mary bears on her hand and neck, which she reluctantly allows him to examine, explaining they are from a childhood incident where her abusive father locked her in a cupboard with a live rat. The staff begin to notice the doctor throwing himself into his work at odd hours, culminating in his announcement that he has hired an assistant, Edward Hyde, who is to be given full run of the household.