The newest adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s iconic novel Rebecca fails to hit all of the mystery and legacy of Hitchcock’s interpretation, but there is more room for feminism to flourish. Because it relies on an interesting story, the film is good, but it will forever live in the shadow of Hitchcock.
Lily James (Cinderella, Mamma Mia 2) gives a decent and three-dimensional performance as a woman who finds love but cannot shake the ghost of her new husband’s late wife. Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name, The Social Network) is certainly no Laurence Olivier and isn’t a very strong presence in the film, but his English accent is quite good. Mrs De Winter gets a makeover in a mixture of period and modern styles that make her out to be more of a modern woman. Many of the sets are true to that of the Hitchcock original, but on a grander scale and there are some wonderful shots of the English countryside.
Kristen Scott Thomas plays Mrs Danvers as a severe woman but she is rarely scary. The writers give her a more fitting ending, and there is a more dynamic feel to the whole story with the cuts and the way that the shots are set up in the now-standard way for modern films. However, with all the new techniques that we have gained since Hitchcock, there is a loss of tension without the room for the ghost (and the camera) to be included as characters in the film. Overall, there is no magic of the original Hitchcock, but a more feminist heroine is definitely an improvement.
‘Rebecca’ is available to stream on Netflix.
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