Madame Hyde

Director and co-writer Serge Bozon started from the famous novella by Robert Louis Stevenson to make in 2017 'Madame Hyde' a feminine version of the story, transferred into a school in 21st century France. Starring Isabelle Huppert, one of the best French actresses of the last decades and one of my preferred actresses. Supporting roles are played by Romain Duris and José Garcia, two of the most charming and talented French actors. So many premises seem to have been gathered for 'Madame Hyde' to be a good film adored by the public. Can this project fail? What can go wrong? Almost everything, this is my surprise answer after watching this movie.

Marie Gequil (Isabelle Huppert) is a high school physics teacher. Despite her good intentions, she fails pedagogically: she loses control of the class and does not capture the interest of her undisciplined students, the only two girls in the 'technology' class complain about her to the pedagogical council, and the school principal (Romain Duris) does not seem to appreciate her efforts or pedagogical methods. Things don't seem to be going well at home either, her marriage without children is buried under boredom, and her musician and unemployed husband (José Garcia) is only capable to encourage her with unnecessary advice. Only an accident in the laboratory that she strictly guards off limits for students can change something. And the accident happens. Hit (literally) by lightning the mediocre teacher turns into an inspirational model by day and a dangerous and (literally again) electrifying being at night. The good deeds of the day change for the better the fate of Malik (Adda Senani) a disabled student and even the class starts to pay attention to her. However, what happens at night is sinister. Will Jekyll pay for Hyde's deeds, as we know from the well-known story?

I confess that this strange version of the theme created by Robert Louis Stevenson puzzled me. It's one of those movies where most viewers' ratings split into 10s to 1s. I'm undecided somewhere in the middle with my own rating. Loved some parts, hated many others. Jekyll and Hyde, right? Almost all details are the other way around, far too many to be unintentional: the gender swapping of the hero who has become a heroine; unconventional approach to hot social issues such as social integration in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, indiscipline of high school students, rigidity of the pedagogical system; the seemingly clumsy, perhaps parodic, interpretations of Duris and Garcia; intentionally simplistic special effects emphasising that the sci-fi theme is just a pretext; the cinematography with many blurred sequences with very visible red inserts. Isabelle Huppert plays a very different role from the ones we are used to, and the state of permanent confusion in which the heroine finds herself was transmitted to me as a spectator. This mixture of sci-fi, horror, social film, inspired teacher, etc. genres is sprinkled with interesting ideas, some original, but the story is full of holes and lapses. Director Serge Bozon refuses, willingly or unwillingly, to bring a coherent cinematic narrative to the screen. 'Madame Hyde' is without a doubt one of the most bizarre screen adaptations of the Jekyll / Hyde theme I've ever seen.

1. Representation of how a school is administered including teacher or student evaluations was incorrect. 2. Lecture vs. lab time for high school physics poorly if not mostly incorrect. 3. Teacher conduct was make believe. Acting was weird as if the writers, actor and director had never been in a school. 4. Student behavior maybe 30% correct. 5. Our electrified teacher was nonsense, and when shown contributed little to our storyline fantasy.

To be totally honest, what I like most about Mrs. Hyde is that she's independent, inscrutable, and a little rough around the edges.

Mrs. Hyde (Madame Hyde in the original French) is a scientific indie parable about a beleaguered high school physics teacher (Mrs. Géquil, which, strangely enough, sounds a lot like the French pronunciation of 'Jekyll') of children in difficulty. On the night of a red moon, she's working in her lab and a lightning strike passes through her equipment (she's doing experiments on body heat and electricity) and into her. This electroshock transforms her into a better teacher during the day and a strange, burning red moon creature in the evening.

If this film had been a polished, studio release, it would have been a shocking waste. But as it's an indie filmed backed by a surprisingly a-list cast (Isabelle Huppert, Romain Duris, José Garcia...), the look and feel of the film is reminiscent of Michel Gondry's La Science des Rêves.

This is a film that won't be liked by many, but those who appreciate quirky, weird, tongue-in-cheek independent modern fables with offbeat humour will find something to enjoy here. Mrs. Hyde is an uncomfortable experience, but not an unpleasant one.

The only thing worse than sci-fi is sci-fi done badly. Isabelle gets some glow-in-the dark powers. When her inner light comes on she can kill a school kid, or she can just sit on a bench outside her home and stare at the moon. Whatever. There is a lack of continuity and understanding here. It's as if the filmmakers want you to guess what just happened knowing you'll never figure it out. Nevah! In short order, why does she only care about one student (the guy Malik) and none of the others? They are all behaving like animals, but Malik is the object of her attention. Everyone else is chopped liver. What causes her mysterious glow to turn and off? Stress? Stubbed her toe? Hot flashes? Why is she so nasty to her bleeding heart sappy doormat of a husband? Besides Malik, the only other "thing" that happens is her tribulations in earning tenure. Which at one instant looks like an epic fail and in the next is her fait accompli. I gave an hour and a half to this malarky and I'm worse off for it.

The movie, Mrs. Hyde, is inspired by the well-known novel "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". The doctor is replaced here by a teacher of sciences confronted to problematic pupils. After a lightning she changes gradually her behaviour and starts transforming at night.

This is an indie movie in a very European style. This being said, it is not surprising that people who are not used to this genre feel a bit lost, and do not expect to like it if you are in that situation. This means that it is quirky compared to a more mainstream cinema, and it uses ellipsis, letting many things implicit.

The picture is also quite typical of the genre but this movie has its own personality when it comes to the colours. In that, you can see it as a less aggressive version of Amélie, with shadings of pastel blue.

As an indie movie it does quite well, but nothing exceptional either. The actors are doing very well but the rhythm is unequal.

There are already plenty of French movies about high schools in disadvantaged French suburbs, with very expected happy endings. This movie takes some distance from that as it carries on its "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"-kind story. Thanks to this distance we also appreciate better the development of the pupils. The very sudden turn in the pupil's behaviour still looks kind of artificial.