“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson has inspired countless adaptations on the big and small screen. However, it’s likely none fall on quite the same wavelength as the sci-fi comedy (you read that right) “Madame Hyde” starring Isabelle Huppert.
Directed by Serge Bozon, the film follows an otherwise unremarkable and unnoticed high school teacher, who gets a huge burst of personality after she’s zapped by electricity. Here’s the synopsis from the New York Film Festival where “Madame Hyde” screened last fall:
Serge Bozon’s eccentric comedic thriller is loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with many a twist. Mrs. Géquil (Isabelle Huppert), a timid and rather peculiar physics professor, teaches in a suburban technical high school. Apart from her quiet married life with her gentle stay-at-home husband, she is mocked and despised on a daily basis by pretty much everyone around her—headmaster, colleagues, students. During a dark, stormy night, she is struck by lightning and wakes up a decidedly different person, a newly powerful Mrs. Hyde with mysterious energy and uncontrollable powers. Highlighted by Bozon’s brilliant mise en scène, Isabelle Huppert hypnotizes us again, securing her place as the ultimate queen of the screen.
Co-starring Romain Duris, “Madame Hyde” opens in France on March 28th. No word yet on a U.S. date.
