On The Luxembourg set of Hysteria, Maggie Gyllenhaal is panting. But it's not from a close encounter with the world's first 'electro mechanical vibrator,' the invention of which is at the center of the new movie. No, it's simply because the character she plays, a proto-feminist trapped in Victorian London, 'talks really fast. Much faster than I do,' says the actress. 'I am panting by the end of my scenes.'
Whether audiences will find themselves equally breathless will be decided when Hysteria has its world premiere in Toronto on Sept. 15.
It promises bawdy comedy: Based on historical fact, the film is set in the offices of doctors who cured women diagnosed with 'hysteria' by treating them to orgasms. The original screenplay, by the American husband-and-wife team of Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer, also examines female repression and a blossoming romance. British producer Sarah Curtis (Mansfield Park), one-third of the female producing team, admits she was skeptical when she first read the script, doubting two Americans could master such a British comedy of manners. 'But after reading it, I thought they had captured the wit and voice of the era well,' she says. Keep Reading at Hollywood Reporter
