There have been several screen adaptations of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, some based closely on the Robert Louis Stevenson story, of which probably the best known are Robert Mamoulian's 1931 and Victor Fleming's 1941 versions. Others have been looser with the story. Mary Reilly is based on a novel by Valerie Martin and tells the story from the perspective of a housemaid in Dr. Jekyll's household. It also tells the story as more of a dark romance than a horror movie, as Mary Reilly, the title character develops a strange romantic triangle with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and has simultaneous feelings of attraction and revulsion.<br /><br />It is an interesting concept and it makes a good story. But in my opinion, it wasn't executed well on screen. I have liked Julia Roberts in some of her performances, but she just wasn't convincing in this one at all. And John Malkovich wasn't menacing or evil enough as Mr. Hyde. Perhaps I shouldn't have expected the same physical unattractiveness for Mr. Hyde as in other versions of the story, since Mary Reilly clearly found something to attract her, but I didn't see much difference between the good doctor and the evil beast. I also didn't find the dialog in the film to be very inspiring. The settings were okay, but nothing terribly special.<br /><br />I think it is fair to say that I was disappointed with this film and that I didn't think it was very good, though it was far from the worst film I've ever seen.