Maggie Gyllenhaal and the story of the vibrator

Daring actress Maggie Gyllenhaal could help to solve one of history’s more obscure debates when her latest film weighs in on who might have invented the first vibrator.

Gyllenhaal has begun shooting scenes in London for Hysteria, which tells the story of how motorised sex aids were invented to help doctors relieve Victorian women suffering “hysterical” conditions such as anxiety, sleeplessness and – in severe cases – erotic fantasies.

The Oscar-nominated actress made her name in the 2002 film Secretary, playing a socially-awkward woman who submits to her boss’s sadomasochistic requests, even allowing him to ride her with a leather saddle and delivering his post in her mouth like a dog.

However, fans hoping that Gyllenhaal will enter into the spirit of Hysteria with similar gusto, and be filmed trying out an early vibrator – or “manipulator” as they were called at the time – will be disappointed.

Gyllenhaal plays the daughter of a doctor, played by Jonathan Pryce, who in 1880 regularly practised manipulation on “hysterical” women.

He teams up Dr Joseph Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy) and a scientist (Rupert Everett) who have invented a new electro-mechanical device, ostensibly designed to save male doctors the embarrassment of treating women manually.

The first patented vibrator was made by the American company Hamilton Beach in 1902. But Hysteria promotes the idea that Granville deserves the credit for its invention.

American director Tanya Wexler told the Observer: "When I heard about the invention of the vibrator I felt that, if I never did another film in my life, I had to do this story.
 
"There is something about that time in the 1880s, and just how strict the cultural codes were, that makes it funny. Everyone pretended it was a medical thing, not a sexual thing, or rather, they really believed it."

Of course, the film wouldn’t be complete without a love story – which is where Gyllenhaal and Dancy come in. “The vibrator is the thing that brings them together,” says Wexler.

Adds Jonathan Pryce: “There are humorous elements, for sure, but ultimately it’s a film about female emancipation and liberation”. ·