If you could see my face right now, you’d see disappointment.

I have beef.

Not the fun beef that comes between two buns, smooshed with lettuce, tomato, and my choice of condiment.

You see, friends, I had a post all written out on Monday night. I was clever. I was hilarious. WordPress, though, is scared of how powerful I can be. So, instead of letting me share my brilliance, WordPress gave me an error and forced me to abandon my work. Nary a draft saved. Naturally, I took offense! How DARE you, sir or madam? How very dare you! So now I know why I can’t have nice things. It’s because of WordPress. You can’t convince me otherwise. It has now become my nemesis. More on that later.

There is no way I can re-create my previous post.

I was insightful, damn it! I was upset that it was Monday and I still had a week of work ahead of me, but I was alert.

This is the version of the tale Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to beat for the time being. I enjoyed every second of this.

For the most part, it follows the novella. One too curious doctor. One creepy Hyde. Child trampled. Murder. Ending the only way this story could possibly end. Utterson does make an appearance in this version, but he doesn’t play a large role. Instead, we are introduced to George Carew, who is the father of the young lady, Millicent, whom Dr. Jekyll is courting. Yes, we have a love interest! Anyway, George is kind of a bad influence. At the start of the movie, he brings Jekyll with him to this bar? Bar? Club? Dance hall? Cabaret (Willkommen!)? I don’t know what to actually call the establishment. George brings Jekyll there to tempt his darker sensibilities in the form of a woman named Gina. Yes, sorta kinda but not really, love interest number two. Seriously, George? That’s not cool. He’s into your daughter, and here you are trying to provoke him with bare flesh. I’m going to say that the events of this story were, somehow, your fault, George. Accept responsibility for being a bad friend and father.

But! Jekyll didn’t fall for such trickery! No. I mean, he did go home and create a concoction that turned him into Edward Hyde, who THEN went back for Gina. He was not a nice person to Gina. Well, he wasn’t a nice person to anyone, to be fair. But I don’t know those other people, and Gina seemed kind of neat. Justice for Gina (spoiler: she totally lived)!

What was I saying?

Oh, Hyde. This guy.

The standout of this film is the make-up used to create Hyde. Look, I make no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of using outward appearance to denote good and evil. The fact of the matter is, though, Hollywood is weird, and it was especially weird 100+ years ago, where “abnormal” and “evil” were often depicted by someone who looked “other”. At the same time, I’m kind of creeped out by this character. They did a good job, not so much with the make-up to create him (see my previous comment), but John Barrymore’s depiction was spot on. Even if this character had a conventional sort of beauty, he would have come across as creepy simply by Barrymore’s portrayal. That said, I am very interested in how Edward Hyde evolved in later versions of the story. Especially since there was a shift toward “boy next door as monster”.

The entire cast did a fabulous job! I mean, the Barrymores are Hollywood royalty for a reason. Everyone conveyed exactly what they intended through body language and expression.

Oh!

Guys!

The Last Will and Testament! It makes an appearance!

And that asshole, Dr. Henry Jekyll, didn’t leave me anything. WordPress had something to do with that, too, I know it!

It’s definitely worth a watch. Yes, it’s a silent movie. Yes, you have to read title cards. Yes, you have to interpret everything else based on what each actor physically brings to the table. But it’s so good.

8.6/10

In my will, I’m not leaving Dr. Henry Jekyll OR WordPress anything.

Siemelle