Hysteria

When I saw the trailer for this movie, it made me do what the trailer for The Intouchables do and that was laugh out loud. Therefore, I put it on my "must see" list and finally got the chance to see it yesterday and I'm glad I did. Hysteria is the very funny tale of the invention of the number one sex toy in history, the vibrator. It tells the story of the honorable, forward thinking young doctor Mortimer Granville played charmingly by Hugh Dancy and his quest to make a living while trying to save lives in Victorian London. The medical community scoffs at him and his ideas about "invisible germs" and how they can possibly cause "infections" and turn someones wound "septic". The only doctor that will give young Granville a job is Dr. Robert Dalrymple played by Johnathan Pryce, who has come up with the hilarious and sometimes scary diagnosis of "hysteria".

Hysteria only strikes women and in the most extreme cases of it, those women need to be institutionalized and some are even made to endure hysterectomies to cure it (like I said, scary). The mild cases though are "handled" by a good and thorough massage of the vulva. Directed by Tanya Wexler, Hysteria is a funny film with some serious issues dealing with women's rights. Their rights to work, vote, and have a say over their own bodies and the person who voices those and other issues in this movie is Charlotte Dalrymple, played by the frighteningly talented Maggie Gyllenhaal. Charlotte is a firebrand, an outspoken proponent of the poor and downtrodden, much to her fathers dismay and utter confusion to Mortimer. He can't understand how Charlotte could be the sister of the fetching Emily Dalrymple played by Felicity Jones. The two sisters are complete and polar opposites which at times is expressed humorously and others profoundly.

Dr. Granville has picked up where the elder Dr. Dalrymple seems to have left off but soon he starts to develop a case of carpal tunnel from his vigorous vulva massages. After one mediocre session with a client things go downhill for the good doctor. Enter his friend, Edmund St. John-Smythe played hilariously by Rupert Everett. Edmund is an inventor, playboy, and son to wealthy parents who is trying to develop something called "the feather duster", for household cleaning. The rest, as they say is history. The rest of the cast are great but the stand out to me was Sheridan Smith who plays Molly, the very first woman to have "the feather duster" used on her.

Like I stated earlier, Hysteria is a very funny film that deals with serious issues and it's very well done. The fact that it's a true story makes it even better in my opinion. Scored by the talented yet lesser known in the states Gast Waltzing, the music fits perfectly. It doesn't stand out to take away from what's on the screen but that makes it hard to remember once the movie is over (not that you'll be paying attention to the music anyway). I highly recommend Hysteria if you want a good laugh while getting a history lesson this summer and I'll see you at the theater.