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.