Hysteria / La petite histoire du plaisir (Bilingual)

Great movie. Funny, sad, a rom/com with a twist, plus a look at the development of a very worth while product. Well worth the watch.

Set in Victorian London we meet idealistic Doctor Morton Granville (Hugh Dancy ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘King Arthur’) who has worked in most of London’s hospitals, all in the last year. As his progressive attitudes to medicine often sets him at odds with some of less far sighted colleagues, still using their leeches and amputation methods. Well in a desperate attempt to put food on the table he approaches Dr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce) who treats exclusively women of means who all suffer from ’hysteria’, that is that they have been diagnosed with having a problematic womb, which means it needs constant attention through medically administered frottage in order to stop them going mental.

Whilst this seems a bit daft, it was actually believed that ‘hysteria’ that was too far gone would only be cured by a hysterectomy – and now you can see where the word comes from. Anyway soon young Dr Granville is doing so well he develops ‘pleaseurers hand’, that is cramp and has to be let go by Dr Dalrymple. This is a double blow as he had sort of fallen for the younger daughter and also was somewhat bemused by the older Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who has incurred her father’s displeasure by working with the lower orders – the shame of it. All is not lost as Morton’s bestest friend Edmund St. John-Smythe (Rupert Everett) is an inventor and before you can say ‘change the batteries’ they have stumbled across a vibrating thing that works as good as a hand or more so if you up the voltage.

This is a Victorian rom com with electrical stimulus. It is really funny in places, Hugh Dancy out does Colin Firth a couple of times and there was a real chemistry between him and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Pryce is always good value – except where he does a duff accent like his Irish one in ‘Ronin’. Everett just plays himself with different clothes on and so manages to pull it off nicely too. The settings and period detail are all spot on too as you would expect; its 99 minutes long so perfectly timed and you don’t have to think, hardly at all. I thought this was a great little film, based on the real inventor and as ever it is better for it. For rom com fans who like the odd battery operated toy and a laugh to boot.

This is a fun film. Made on a limited budget, especially for a period piece, the 19th century world is thoroughly recreated; and, none of the seams are showing. It is, of course, a movie; and, not a documentary. Some of the events (and, people) are not intended to be historical. But, it's still a lot of fun.
The movie hints that the real "Hysteria" plaguing society, and health care, could be cured, with a little ingenuity and investment; while the wealthy waste enormous amounts of money, indulging themselves, creating their own health problems. At least, it suggests that this was true during the Victorian Era; whether, that's still true, in the 21st century, is beyond the scope of this film comedy.