AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

benji-13 Wonderful scenery, music and a chilly Gothic atmosphere make this a much underrated film of Jodie's career. Best of all I loved her accent especially on the voice over and it sounded pretty authentic to me, people in New Zealand would have spoken with a more British type accent back then so Jodie was spot on I reckon.Also does the title refer to the fact that most of the men (the husband, brother, doctor and even the lawyers) all seem mesmerized by Victoria's beauty as I know I would have been. One thing that was bugging me was were I had seen the actor who played the husband's brother and thanks to IMDb found out he was Billy the Kid from Bill and Ted! Overall a good film to check out from Jodie's pre superstar days.

elevator_opratr Odd-ball movie. What could have been a decent story, instead fell victim to some very bad acting ... acting that was almost painful to watch ... it felt like the actors/actresses were totally uninterested in recording this.Based on a supposedly true story based in 1800's New Zealand with an almost unbelievable plot, the unbelievability of the plot is made even more inevitable by poor acting. Instead of driving home the point of the real-ness of the movie, the acting made it look like a joke.Watch it and be prepared to scratch your head at the end. You'll say to yourself: "either this was total baloney, or it was true, but the story very poorly told."

FloatingOpera7 While some find this film dull, slow-paced and even pretentious, I think it's well-written and very haunting. Dating from 1986, Mesmerized stars Jodie Foster prior to her success in such films as Accused and Silence Of The Lambs or even Contact, and by then experienced actor John Lithgow. The premise- an orphaned New Zealand girl is sold into a loveless marriage with wealthy businessman who is cruel and abusive. Michael Murphy plays the role of Wilson, her distant lover. The dark character of Oliver Thomson is played terrifically by John Lithgow. The greatest scenes are those with Lithgow and Foster as Victoria. Jodie Foster, in British accent, plays a very authentic Victorian tragic heroine. The dominant, cruel and sexually bizarre Oliver further breaks the poor Victoria's spirit. Some of the film drags on to a kind of boredom, and lacks the necessary drive for a powerful horror (or psychological horror) as some other films, but it's very Gothic and haunting if you look closely. The dialog is stilted (John Lithgow is even using a Scottish accent) but it works mainly because it's a period piece. Shadows, Victorian homes, barnyards, eerie silences, all effectively work in this movie. The only parts I disliked were the scenes in which Oliver gets sick. He is a bit melodramatic in his sickness. Plus, its incongruous to his domineering persona once so healthy and virile. But the film is good to watch late night. It's almost a 19th century attempt at Silence Of the Lambs which would not come till about 5 years later for Foster, which would make her a star, opposite the equally famous Anthony Hopkins. This film is really quite good and among the better psychological horror pieces. The title refers to the fact Oliver uses hypnosis to control his feisty wife. Very chilling. Makes you think what would happen if someone in our own time would do that to control his or her own spouse. The cinematography is quite good, the costumes, the horse-drawn carriages, all add up to a sustained Gothic melodrama about a dominant man and his mousy wife, who is also not a force to be reckoned with.

phart-1 Two very talented actors in a strange and twisted tale. An orphaned girl seeks freedom from her orphanage by marrying an older man she does not love. Not enough character development. Good story with a bad screenplay. I'm sure Jodie would like to stick this one in her "never again" file.