Mesmer (1994, Roger Spottiswoode)
Franz Anton Mesmer was an intriguing man, who lived in 18th century Vienna. He believed that everything in the world was in balance, except man. He performed unusual studies on ill people, believing he could heal them, and in the process discovered something he called “animal magnetism“.
The plot itself is an interesting one, and its main protagonist — the healing genius madman — reminded me of another Alan Rickman movie, Rasputin. Unfortunately, I found Mesmer to be… unsatisfactory, something Rasputin was not.
The screenplay is melodramatic and, at time, banal. The dialogue sounds forced, if you can hear it at all, for most conversations are spoken in a whisper, to the point where I had to turn the volume up to max.
That said, there is nothing wrong with the performances; Rickman himself is on fine form, as is Amanda Ooms. Still, I can’t help thinking that in more capable hands, this might have turned out to be more… mesmerising
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Some comments :rimshot:
Sigh. Gren, you ponce.