Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2017)
*** (out of 4)
Low-budget but effective adaptation of the classic novel as Shaun Paul Piccinino playing Dr. Henry Jekyll, a great doctor who decides to try and experiment with what causes men to go mad. Before long he is transformed in Mr. Hyde (Gianni Capaldi).
This film has earned all sorts of great acclaim and I went into it with rather high expectations. I'm the type of fan that must see every new version of this story and it really doesn't matter how many of them I watch. I just find the story to be such a fascinating one that it works well watching various interpretations of it.
I'm certainly not going to call this one a masterpiece like some have but I will say that this was a rather impressive version, although I had one major issue with the film. The biggest problem for me was the fact that there were certain scenes that were shot so dark that you could hardly see what was going on. I understand trying to add atmosphere to a film but when it's this dark it was kind of pointless.
With that said, i did enjoy the performances and especially Piccinino as Jekyll. He was extremely good in the role and I thought he really brought it to life. Having another actor play Hyde was interesting but Capaldi was good as well. What makes this special is the fact that it turned out to be Mickey Rooney's final performance as he has a very brief role as a witness. Margaret O'Brien also appears in a quick scene. Getting to see these two legends was a major plus.
