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Doctor Jekyll (Film Review)

Hammer Films

With making its triumphant comeback as a studio in recent years, it was only a matter of time before certain classic horror characters were given the 21st century treatment, re-imagined for the modern age. Naturally, the classic Robert Louis Stephenson story of and Mr Hyde would seem an obvious candidate. A gender flipped version of the Victorian classic on paper seems like an easy home run. Unfortunately, Doctor Jekyll never quite fulfils it's potential. 

Doctor Jekyll tells the story of Robert, a recently released ex-convict struggling to find work and trying to stay on the straight-and-narrow to regain access to his daughter who is undergoing treatment for an unspecified, but serious illness. His brother, manages to get him an interview with a reclusive Pharmaceutical magnate, Nina Jekyll to be her live-in carer. Despite the reservations of Jekyll's assistant, Robert gets the job but quickly things begin to take a turn towards the bizarre. Robert grows closer with Nina, but also begins to observe strange behaviours, and unexplained phenomena specifically at night. Meanwhile, Robert's ex, who is still involved in a life of crime attempts to cajole him back to the criminal life. Despite his best efforts, the two worlds collide with astonishing consequences.

Hammer Films

It's important to accentuate the positives on a film like Doctor Jekyll, and the acting performances are definitely the most positive aspects of the whole production. is very effective as Jekyll, bringing an old world charm and an unsettling, simmering sense of menace that always appears to be bubbling just under the surface. For his part is very likeable as Rob, and his boyish charm lends itself to the role very well. The chemistry between the two leads is really strong, which is incredibly helpful given they are the two people on screen for around 90% of the film.  and are also excellent in small, but pivotal supporting roles. 

Crunchy nut cornflakes feel oddly prominent in Doctor Jekyll. It becomes a running joke, perhaps one that epitomises the issues with the film overall. Undue focus is given to comedic moments, where the darker nature of the “Hyde ” character lurking inside Jekyll seems underdeveloped and underutilised. In fact, much of the transformation of the Jekyll character seems to lead to some crossed words, a slight personality shift and a few weird noises rather than anything more sinister in terms of an actual transformation. It's a bold strategy, but one that doesn't totally pay off. There's nothing wrong with going for subtlety over flash, however despite Izzard's best efforts it's tricky at points to distinguish between Jekyll and Hyde. Perhaps this is by design, given what happens in the final act, and maybe a bit more exposition would have made this clear. Unfortunately, the lack of clarity definitely impacts the viewing experience and undercuts what is happening on screen.

Hammer Films

The lack of detail over the relationship of Rob and his ex-partner, Maeve, why he was in prison, what the situation is with his estranged child is frustrating at points. This would have massively helped flesh out the main protagonist and give the audience further reasons to care about his predicament, rather than creating a larger focus on breakfast cereal. The pacing of the film should lend itself to plenty of background on the two leads, even with the caveat of Jekyll needing to remain mysterious. There seems to be minimal reason why the main character, Rob, should be so one-dimensional.

The final act of the film does attempt to provide a twist, and a clever reworking of the Jekyll and Hyde story, rather than the expected conclusion, something that should be praised. However, the execution and the explanation for that occurrence is pretty slapdash, something which feels emblematic of the film as a whole. Two very impressive acting performances let down by poor writing and an attempt to “re-imagine” a story when perhaps sticking to its origins might have served Doctor Jekyll better. 

Doctor Jekyll will be available on Digital Download from 11th March