Hysteria (2012)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Maybe a strange headline, but it's actually what it's all about.We're writing the Victorian age. a time that sex was a big taboo and generally not much more then a way to reproduce. You almost ask yourself how it was ever possible that the upper-class with their upper morality did reproduce, because the lower class had a lot less problems with it.But then sex is a number one necessities of life, so you get grumpy women who are left out to one of life first necessities To give it a name it's called hysteria by the men's world, and women like that should be locked up, or at least be treated.But no fear, there we have doctor Dalrymple who has a solution by "Massaging the Vulva" which gives a huge impact and spasm on woman that will be followed by deep relaxation and therefore takes the hysteria away. This has nothing to do with sex, oh no, after all, woman can only feel pleasure when they are penetrated by a man. The sheer ignorance of this line made me really laughing my ass of.Because of the sheer ignorance about sex in this age and the great humorous way how this subject is brought made it a very enjoyable movie to watch. The movie went of with a great bang by a certain line, which i will not tell. You want to know it? Watch the movie, you won't be sorry.

I had heard great things of this movie, so I was delighted to see it at my local video store, having missed it on release, and grabbed it. I was disappointed. I found Dr Granville Mortimer to be ineffectual and unconvincing, while the sister he wasn't engaged to was over the top and too ardent about her passionate fight for social(with incidentally the cleanest, smartest place in the slums ever seen), and real issues. I felt that the whole film was a token effort - the queues of middle aged ladies, the tidy slums, and the enormous leap between social classes, so easily made. I was disappointed to see the esteemed Jonathon Pryce in his role, I felt he could do better somehow. For me the film fell between two stools, neither really funny (just the odd chuckle) nor a solid statement about the state of women's life as it was. And so predictable with the sisters.

Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy) is an up and coming doctor in 1880's Britain. Dr. G is aware of all of the current medical information so when he insists on cleaning the wound of a lady's leg, regularly, while she is in hospital, the senior doctor fires him. What an injustice! Nevertheless, Dr. M goes back to his residence with a wealthy, eccentric inventor (Rupert Everett), he won't take any monetary loans. Most wonderfully, a new opportunity soon presents itself. A Dr. Dalrymple (Jonathan Price) is searching for an assistant in his treatment of women with hysteria. What's that? It turns out that Victorian ladies of the times have mental difficulties and the cure of the day is, ahem, manual stimulation of the women's private parts. That is, massage leading to orgasm! Yes! Naturally, any woman with the means "comes" regularly, haha, to visit Dr. Dalrymple, hence the need of a second practitioner! Our Dr. G, quite proper, throws himself into his work. In truth, there are a variety of draperies that make the operation as modest as possible. The older doctor, a widower, also has two daughters. The younger, Emily (Felicity Jones) attracts Mort's attentions right away, for she is all refined loveliness. But, the older one, Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who breezes in and out of the house on her way to a clinic/help station for the poor, is brash as well as beautiful. She's also an advocate for women's rights to a T so Mortimer is quite aghast at her doings. One unhappy day, Dr. Mort develops a crimp in his hand and can't properly administer the treatment to a demanding woman so Dr. D gives him the boot. That's when Dr. G, back at the inventor's home, sees possibilities in the man's mechanized feather duster! Ho ho! Also, Charlotte has a run-in with the law that lands her in jail. Does our Mort really prefer Emily? Please, movie lovers, don't overlook this film because of its subject matter. Yes, it is a historical look at the invention of the vibrator, which will upset some. But, set in Victorian times, the flick absolutely presents the most demure look at such a subject that ever was! In the spirit of the times, the treatment for hysteria is regarded as perfectly acceptable where as in modern times, both doctors would have been behind bars posthaste! The tale is mostly a romance, which will please many. As such, Dancy is terrific as the doctor while Gyllenhaal is most admirable and lovely as the woman ahead of her time. Jones, Pryce, Everett, and all of the other supporting cast members are great, too. The look of the film, with its sumptuous costumes, sets, and photography is a boon for the eyes, too. Then, as stated, the script and direction are lively, humorous, and never offensive. However, because of the adult subject matter, no one under 18 should be allowed a view. That said, most folks over that age will find it wonderful and charming, setting off vibrations of laughter and sighs.

Hysteria is a great idea for a movie. I mean, a movie about the invention of the vibrator? Thank you! I wanted to know how that came about (not sarcasm) but the execution was a bit wanting. The actors selected were great, each with capable acting abilities and each with commendable works in the past, but here together they had no chemistry, at least romantic chemistry. The whole time I felt that they were playing brother and sister.Maggie Gyllenhal's character was a wild and untamed woman with a brain (for the time) and Hugh Dancy's character was the somewhat uptight doctor who believed in modern medicine. The script wasn't all there, it felt unexplained at some points and overly used in other areas. (as in an over use of speech between characters who seem as if they cannot convey thought with eyes or facial expressions alone.) But strangely you want to know these characters, you root for what they want for the world and you believe that in what they say and in their beliefs. The movie is not exciting but it is new and smart in some ways. You really see the funny and silly sides of medicine. The movie isn't as good as it could have been, but it doesn't quite fall flat either. It's worth a watch so don't write it off.