Sheridan Smith and Hugh Dancy in Hysteria. Photo by Ricardo Vaz Palma, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Surprising at every turn, blushingly embarrassing even for the cynical, with too many laugh-out-loud moments to recount, ?Hysteria? is, ostensibly, about the invention of the vibrator intended for personal use. This is a film for anyone who has ever used a hand held shower head for ?deep cleaning? to alleviate stress, and you know you?re out there, or for those who?ve only imagined it; the issues raised in ?Hysteria? still have relevance today.
It is London, 1880, and Dr. Mortimer Granville, a modernist current on all the latest research is dismissed from hospital after hospital for trying to implement Joseph Lister?s antiseptic method. By treating wounds with carbolic acid Lister was able to significantly reduce infection in the operating room. Even though Lister proved the relationship between germs and infection, and even though the simple act of hand washing would prevent the spread of germs from healers to the sick, physicians were slow to adapt and continued, almost until the end of the century, to use leeches to treat illness and perform their duties in filth.
Frustrated and out of options, Granville applies for a position assisting Dr. Robert Dalrymple, the city?s leading specialist in treating hysteria in women. Hysteria, from the Greek for ?wandering uterus,? was the leading diagnosis for idiopathic female difficulties (the ?idio? part most likely referred to the men who came up with the diagnoses) such as depression, rebelliousness, nymphomania, sexual frustration, marital discord and general malaise. Treatment, as you might imagine, had progressed from the original suggestion that women go horseback riding to the kind of gynecological manipulation practiced by the popular Dr. Dalrymple. Granville, an excellent student, more than doubles the practice and is well on his way to being offered a partnership and the hand of Dalrymple?s perfect Victorian daughter Emily. Dalrymple?s other daughter, Charlotte, is the bane of his existence. Out-spoken, a social reformer arguing publicly for women?s rights and the founder of a settlement house for poor women and children, she is the antithesis of a lady in society. Granville, courting Emily, finds himself drawn to Charlotte?s passion and therein lies the conflict.
When he develops hand cramps, his career seems to be over even as it had just begun. It is, however, an invention for another purpose designed by his eccentric friend Lord St. John Smyth that changes his life, and that of countless others.
Director Tanya Wexler puts a humorous face on what was a serious problem. Prior to Freud?s more specific delineation of hysteria as a mental disorder associated with traumatic sexual experience, hysteria was a catch all for unidentifiable female diseases. As character Charlotte deftly points out, hysteria was an imaginary problem of affluent women. Wexler and writers Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer cocoon the story of the electro-mechanical devise that will change the face of history, or at least the face of hysteria, within a depiction of London at the end of the Industrial Revolution and the inhumanity of Dickensian poverty. The frivolity of Granville and Dalrymple?s diagnostic fervor underscores the real issues of filth, poverty, injustice and cruelty that existed.
?Hysteria? truly comes alive because the outstanding cast plays it straight ? no wink-wink or knowing glances. Leading this exemplary ensemble is Hugh Dancy, a stage actor of a renown exceeding his young age. Handsome, serious but with excellent comedic timing, he?s a leading man who commands the screen with an almost shy presence. Currently on Broadway in the play ?Venus in Fur,? Dancy is on the threshold of a major film career. Playing opposite the great Jonathan Pryce as Dalrymple, Dancy more than holds his own and their interplay is like a fine violinist and his pianist, easily trading prominence depending on the situation. Pryce, seen too little on film, is able to convey everything with his great large eyes and a subtle raise of his brow. No speck of enjoyment ever crosses his countenance, even while you are laughing ?hysterically.? Felicity Jones as Emily imbues a youthful propriety and innocence to her character that makes her achingly charming while Maggie Gyllenhaal has all the fun as Charlotte. In more minor roles, Ashley Jensen as a Settlement House resident and Sheridan Smith as a not quite reformed prostitute are excellent. It was wonderful to see Gemma Jones, the great British actress known most recently for her roles in the ?Harry Potter? and ?Bridget Jones? movies, in the small role of Lady St. John-Smythe. My only disappointment, not entirely surprising, was in Rupert Everett. Playing the eccentric inventor, Everett once again coasted through his role adding nothing but a voice dripping in Wildean decadence. He used to be so much more and this was tailor-made for the actor he used to be. That being said, he wasn?t bad, just not as good as he should have been.
Treat yourself to some vicarious fun and see this variation of the boy meets girl theme, a film that works on so many levels, one of which massages the brain and another which vibrates a bit south of the cranium. You will be, as the German title to this film is called, ?In Good Hands?.
Opening May 18 at the Hollywood ArcLight and the Landmark.
Neely also writes a blog about writers in television and film at www.nomeanerplace.com.
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I remember it like it was yesterday-It was the Friday after ASK testing. I was in 7th grade- so this State Test counted towards high school more than all the others. I was nervous that I was going to do awful, so I was relieved when it was all over. We got out of the car at my house and walked up to the front porch to see my dad standing in front of the door. He had two envelopes in his hand. He gave one to me and one to my brother. ?Open it,? my mom said. The sound of the ripping envelope echoed my thought about the conversation-it was unusual and made me wonder. The letter read something along the lines of ?You have 5 minutes to change into your costumes and join us in the television studio (living room) to win games and prizes on Let?s Make A Deal!!? We ran to our rooms and got into our costumes. Mine was a Minnie Mouse costume and my brother?s was one of the green aliens from Toy Story. My mom (now dressed in a fancy white shirt) beckoned my brother and me out into the living room. As we were led to couches, I noticed the green sheet that hung from the ceiling. It had a Lets Make A Deal logo on it. The curtain almost reached the floor, but we could see an inch between the ground and the bottom of the curtain. We saw my dad?s feet as he made his way to the end of the curtain so he could see us for the first time in our costumes. He was met with applause and hoots from the rest of the family when he was introduced as our host, Mr. Sweety McTush. Then the game started.
hands over my ears (I hate loud noises like balloons popping [That is the only reason why I hate Figment and I will NEVER ride that ride again] and yes, even fireworks [I just cover my ears]). My can contained an envelope with a dollar bill taped to the front. I wasn?t allowed to open the envelope, but was told by my dad there was also money inside the envelope. He didn?t tell me how much though. But the game wasn?t over-I had to pick ANOTHER can. Once I picked my lucky can (from numerous times switching them back and forth) I was instructed not to open it. Then I had to make a life changing decision-do I keep the envelope that I was sure contained money or take the risk and open up the new can? I did what my gut told me to do. My motto for the whole thing was to go big or go home. So, for all challenges I risked everything for the unknown (which might explain why I got a lot of Zonks). Anyway, I picked the can. I pulled, tugged, and yanked with all of my might. I heard the pop, but no snakes came out. I defeated the snake cans again! This time I looked in my can and saw a pin. Not just any pin- A HIDDEN MICKEY PIN! I collect these because they couldn?t be bought anywhere and you could only own them if you traded with Cast Members (of course we all know that now you can buy some of them in the gift shops). YAY!
A few events later, my favorite challenge came about. If you watch Survivor, you know that sometimes when they need to divide the people into tribes, they pick rocks out of a bag. On the count of three, they would open up their hands and look at the rock. They were painted the tribe colors and they would separate into tribes based on the color they got. So this challenge was similar (see? I told you in my last blog that we LOVE Survivor!) except that instead of rocks we picked out poker chips. In the bag were 19 green chips and 1 red chip. If you picked the red chip, you were out. If you picked the green chip, your torch was still lit (Survivor reference)! My brother and I picked a chip and revealed the color when told to. We both got green chips! This went on for about 7 more rounds before the red chip was chosen. And guess who got it?
and discovered that it contained 2 dollars. The next wallet only had $1. We needed two dollars or else we didn?t get the Big Deal of The Day. We chose our final wallet and opened it with excitement and nerves pumping through our veins. It has two dollars in it! We were congratulated and then told to sit on the couch and wait for my dad to bring the Big Deal of the Day out. He came out minutes later with his back to us. It was our last chance to wonder about the prize. My dad whipped towards us really fast as he put a box on the table. It showed my brother and I zip lining last summer in NC, but our pictures were cut out and taped to wires hanging on this box. The box was decorated to look like mountains and rivers. On top it said ?ZipQuest? it took a second for it to sink in-we were going zip lining! I have only done it once before-and I LOVED it! After we left the World, we were going to stop in Virginia for zip lining. It would put ice on the wound that is leaving Walt Disney World but not completely heal it.? I now had something to look forward to when leaving my home.
