Hysteria 2012 DVD Release Date
- Actors: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones, Rupert Everett
- Directors: Tanya Wexler
- Writers: Howard Gensler, Jonah Lisa Dyer, Stephen Dyer
- Producers: Anouk Nora, Bob Bellion, Christine Ruppert, Claudia Bluemhuber
- Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: French
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R (Restricted)
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: September 18, 2012
- Run Time: 100 minutes
Customer Reviews
"Hysteria" (95 min.) brings the highly unlikely (but we are reminded at the beginning of the film that "This movie is based on true events. Really.") story of a young doctor Dr. Mortimer Granville (played by Hugh Dancy) in London, 1880, who is struggling but eventually finds a job with Dr. Robert Dalrymple (played brillantly by Jonathan Pryce) who is treating women for the so-called hysteria disease, really a catch-all for any and all things supposedly wrong with women in those days. The treatment is nothing else but to touch these women's private parts until they reach "paroxysmal convulsions" (wink, wink). The young doctor along with his buddy eventually come up with a mechanical device, which became the vibrator (still the number one sex toy in the world today, we are reminded at the end of the movie).
But the movie in fact is much more about Granville's romantic interplay with the 2 daughters of Dalrymple, Emily (played by Felicity Jones), who is "daddy's girl" and to whom Granville gets engaged, and Charlotte (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal), the "rebel" daughter who has set up a social center to help the poor. I don't want to give away much more from the plot, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Maggie Gyllenhall really shines in this movie. I couldn't help but think how much she reminded me of Diane Keaton in her late 70s performances (think Annie Hall). That aside, this movie is a pleasant romcom, nothing more, nothing less. And no, not an "important movie" about women's empowerment as some other reviews here (who obviously did not see the movie) are suggesting.
What do women want? Well, science may debate that for years, but Hysteria provides a very entertaining answer in the form of a historical romp through early psychology. Based on the story of a young British doctor who essentially invented the first vibrator, Hysteria handles its offbeat subject matter lightly and amusingly. And its cast is splendid. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Felicity Jones play Victorian-era sisters, Charlotte and Emily, daughters of the prominent physician Dr. Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce). Into their lives comes an ambitious, thoughtful young doctor, Mortimer Granville (played by the dreamy Hugh Dancy). Dr. Granville's life work has become focused on women's issues, including the all-encompassing diagnosis "hysteria," for which he is experimenting with therapeutic "pelvic massage" treatments. When he comes to Dr. Dalrymple for mentoring and approval of his rather unorthodox treatments, the doctor's two daughters vie for his romantic affections. In lesser hands, this film could have been a Victorian-era 40-Year-Old Virgin or The (Sexual) Hangover, but director Tanya Wexler keeps the action crisp, light, and focused. Hysteria is a great date movie or a splendid escape for history, and hysteria, lovers. --A.T. Hurley
DVD Release Date on Hysteria 2012
