Film Review
In the autumn of 1971 British cinema audiences were treated to not one
but two adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
made by rival companies Hammer and Amicus. As part of a
calculated strategy to revamp its horror output, Hammer opted for a
more left-field interpretation of Stevenson's novella, with the hideous
Mr Hyde being replaced by a seductive but deadly female who passes
herself off as Dr Jekyll's sister. Coming along just a few weeks
after Hammer's risqué
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde
(1971), Amicus's
I, Monster must
have seemed chronically old hat, a straight book-to-screen adaptation
of the Jekyll and Hyde story that was everything Hammer was trying to
get away from. The only innovation Amicus made was the
inexplicable renaming of its protagonists, Jekyll and Hyde becoming
Marlowe and Blake. (The literary allusion is subtle and arcane -
William Blake's
Marriage of Heaven
and Hell and Christopher Marlowe's
Doctor Faustus both dealing with
the subject of wedded opposites that reflect man's dual nature).
I, Monster was to have been
released in cinemas as a 3D film but these plans were aborted midway
through production when the difficulties (or rather the cost) of making
a 3D film became apparent. This partly explains why the film
doesn't quite work. Some of the character movement and camera
motion are overly distracting, their only function being to serve the redundant 3D
effect. Other scenes appear hideously static, with characters
merely sitting around and churning out reams and reams of tedious plot
exposition. Milton Subotsky attributed the film's failure to
Stephen Weeks' direction but he was responsible for the screenplay,
which is needlessly wordy and lacking the sparkle he brought to some of
his other films. Weeks would later distinguish himself with
Ghost Story (1974) but here,
directing his first feature at the age of 22, he appears out of his
depth.
Whilst the film certainly has its failings - verbose, unevenly paced
and poorly lit being its main shortcomings - it does have one saving
grace, a superb central performance from Christopher Lee. Lee's
portrayal of the good doctor and his evil alter ego differs from
earlier screen interpretations in that it is frighteningly easy to see
the two characters as two facets of the same man. The monstrous
Blake is not a completely different persona but merely an exaggerated,
less contained version of the respectable Victorian doctor
Marlowe. This is apparent throughout the film, even when Blake's
appearance becomes increasingly disfigured. In one of the
subtlest performances of his career, Lee gives Stevenson's fanciful
novella a chilling reality, by allowing us to perceive Hyde's evil in
Jekyll's seemingly benign countenance. When the transformation
first takes place the only noticeable change in Marlowe's appearance is
the acquisition of a broad grin - the most terrifying grin you are ever
likely to see.
If Christopher Lee had the opportunity to flex his acting muscles, the
same cannot be said for the rest of the cast, most of whom appear
terminally bored with the whole venture. Peter Cushing, Lee's
habitual sparring partner, is frankly wasted in a lacklustre role that
requires no great acting skill. Apart from Lee, the only member
of the cast who is favoured by the screenplay is Susan Jameson, who
gets to be transformed from repressed Victorian miss to brazen
hussy. The rest (Mike Raven, Richard Hurndall, Marjie Lawrence,
etc.) are merely going through the motions, so-so performances to match
a so-so script. In fact, given the quality of the script he has
to work with, and hampered with the 3D / no 3D setback, Stephen Weeks
does a remarkably good job of salvaging what he can from a near
disaster. Amidst the drift and dross there are few inspired
touches, such as a totally eerie dream, sequence, and overall the film
stands up surprisingly well.
I,
Monster may not be the most polished adaptation of Stevenson's
novella but it is strangely alluring, a haunting meditation on
mankind's greatest curse, his inescapable dual nature.
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Charles Marlowe is a London psychologist who believes he has found a
drug that is capable of suppressing an individual's super ego, thereby
allowing him to act freely without moral constraint. Having
tested the drug on two of his patients, Marlowe tries it on himself and
is transformed into a monster who delights in inflicting cruelty on
others. Marlowe christens his evil alter ego Edward Blake and
instructs his lawyer to change his will so that, in the event of his
death, Blake will inherit his entire estate. Marlowe regards his
experiment as a success, until he realises that Blake is a
conscienceless killer who risks taking him over completely...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.