MovieChat Forums > Hysteria (2011) Discussion > Maggie Gyllenhaal´s character

Maggie Gyllenhaal´s character


I couldn´t finish this because of how incredibly annoying Maggie Gyllenhaal´s character was. Anyone agree?

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I don't agree. I liked her character

However I agree with you about Michael Shannon's acting ability being overlooked by the academy this year. His performance in Take Shelter is brilliant. It warranted a nomination in my opinion.




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[deleted]

really like her in dis

I live, I love, I slay, and I'm content

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I saw film critic Roger Ebert at a book signing and he said that the reason why we feel the way we do towards a movie is all down to your emotional response to it.

When he said that, a lightbulb went off inside my head.

Piddas, the reason why you find Maggie Gyllenhaal's character annoying, is that you, are more than likely peeved at a woman who is strong, confident, ballsy, feisty etc. Victorian England was very tough for the poor and the working class. Ever read the work of Charles Dickens?

I say that Maggie Gyllenhaal did a really job of portraying Charlotte Dalrymple.

I wasn't convinced by the engagement party scene though.

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It's true that we feel the way we feel about movies because of emotional reactions, but it is a big assumption to conclude that the OP is peeved at women who are strong etc.

I agree with the OP. Her character drove me so crazy I almost turned the movie off. For me, her character was so over the top as to be disrespectful to what women actually had to contend with in the time. The dress she wore to the engagement party made her look very lovely by current standards, but even prostitutes at that time had something over their shoulders. To draw a comparison to current time, what she wore was as appropriate as how Courtney Stodden dresses.

Everything she said, from teaching children to wash their hands, to wanting an equal partner in a marriage, to talking about sex in public, were all completely preposterous for women of her time. I was especially annoyed by her talking about women being forced to marry "some half-wit" -- at the time, it was well accepted in the medical community that women were completely mentally inferior to men. Her statement would not only be considered extraordinarily rude, but would have been grounds by itself to question her sanity. Punching a man in the face was the cherry on top.

These things bother me not because I'm a stickler for hisotrical accuracy, but because I'm a feminist. I think it does a great disservice to the real feminists who existed at the time. The movie would have been more believable to me if Maggie's character had been a time traveler from 2011.

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I disagree with you. Maybe you jut hate seeing a woman that has the ability to think for herself and is not afraid to express that opinion. Maybe you should live in the 50s where you belong.

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I am sorry. Just thought you were giving a conservative reaction. By our standards Maggie's character was a liberal. She may have over played her part.

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How very "Maggie" of her!

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Gosh, yes. I'm a woman too, and I keep seeing Maggie hamming it up in all her movies. Well, the three I've seen so far, anyway. She sets my teeth on edge. Not because she plays a strong character, but because I don't enjoy her acting style. (How's that for being diplomatic?)

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Definitely agree. Couldnt stand her. I understand they tried to make her spirited and open minded and whatnot but she was completely rude and annoying.

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I disagree. I think her character made me like Maggie's acting all the more better.

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I feel the same as you. I loved her! I thought she did a great job!

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