Set in Victorian London, Tanya Wexler's period comedy Hysteria tells the tale of Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy), a young doctor disturbed by the way most hospitals ignore the latest research on germ theory, and still treat patients with bleedings and leeches. After being fired from his most recent job for speaking out on the matter, he ends up in the employ of Dr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce) who runs a private practice specializing in treating women who suffer from "hysteria" and come to the doctor for his precise digital manipulations in order to get a release. With the help of Mortimer's best friend Edmund (Rupert Everett) together they create a device that allows these women to achieve the desired result much more quickly. Complicating matters, Mortimer becomes enamored of Dalrymple's strong-willed, feminist-minded daughter Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Hysteria played at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
