Review of Hysteria (2011) by Mloy X — 14 May 2014

Emily Dalrymple (Felicity Jones): "There is no greater charity than the gift of education.".

Maggie Gyllenhaal is perhaps one of the most underrated actresses of our generation; she was definitely channeling her inner Katie Hepburn in her portrayal of the spunky, Charlotte Dalrymple. I loved her British accent, she pulled it off brilliantly (normally Americans doing a British accent annoys me to no end and rarely do they ever sound convincing-- I'm looking at you Paltrow and Hathaway). Her performance also reminded me a bit of a younger Emma Thompson; she was simply fantastic in this film. The rest of the cast were good as well but no performance was more outstanding than Gyllenhaal's: Dancy was alright, Rupert Everett was his usual charming self, Jonathan Pryce was (as always) brilliant and Felicity Jones was great (but I think she's getting typecast in the pretty-but-naïve-and sometimes-dense-other-woman roles). The plot was interesting to say the least and completely unexpected; maybe I should have read ahead-- I thought it was just another period-piece, romantic comedy. The film was a little predictable but entertaining nonetheless with the token morality lesson thrown in for good measure so the film has somewhat of a real purpose and not seem too pointless or frivolous. Overall, it wasn't a bad way to while away an hour and forty minutes.