Netflix’s latest gothic drama, re-make of “Rebecca” has hit the streaming site just in time for Halloween. The movie itself, starring Armie Hammer and Lily James, is a re-make, originally based off the novel by the same name that was released in 1938. The gothic novel by Dame Daphne du Maurier takes place in the late 1930s as a young woman (James) is caught up by the charm and mystery of the recent widower, Maxim de Winter (Hammer) as he sweeps her away to his estate in Manderley.
Trailer:
The original film, released in 1940, was famously directed by Alfred Hitchcock, one of the most famous horror directors of that time, the film even went on to win Best Picture at the 1941 Academy Awards. In a culture obsessed with re-makes, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that we re-visit the film, nearly eighty years later. While the Ben Wheatley adaptation doesn’t necessarily categorize and capture the horror genre, it is a psychological and, at times, an entertaining, albeit outdated, watch.
Warning: Spoilers Below.
The film starts with the main character (James), whose name we don’t know, reminiscing on the summer that she first visited the Manor of Manderley. The dreams and nightmares of the events that occurred that summer, still haunting her in her sleep. As we only see glimpses of the Estate, we quickly flash to the summer in Monte Carlo where she initially meets Maxim de Winter in a chance encounter during her job as a handmaid to a society woman. Taken by the young woman, Maxim begins taking her on daily adventures around the city, beach visits, and extended coastal drives. In one such encounter he mentions the loss of his late-wife, Rebecca. As the young lady presses Maxim on her death, he withdrawals quickly, refusing to discuss her untimely death.
On the day she is supposed to depart Monte Carlo with her boss, the young woman seeks the comfort of Maxim, desperate to leave with him to Manderley rather than return to New York. In a haste decision, Maxim proposes to her, sweeping her away from the known and taking her to the sinisterly Manderley Manor. Before another second delay, we hear the warning song “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme” play in the background as they head for the Manor. She arrives at the Manor as the new Mrs. de Winter.
Upon immediate arrival, we meet the cold and cross Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas), the housekeeper of the Estate. On a tour, Mrs. Danvers explains that the house has been in the family for 300-Years, a gift from Henry VIII. During the tour, the young woman discovers old letters dated to Rebecca de Winter, none of them opened. The sprawling estate is all but empty, filled with vacant rooms, yet perfectly preserved, ready for new occupants.
In her first night sleeping in the house, she wakes from a nightmare to discover Maxim has vacated the bed, appearing to be sleep walking. She follows him through the house as he stops in front of a large, decorated closed door. He stands in front of the door, opening it and then closing it behind him, leaving her alone on the outside. The door is suspected to be the late Rebecca de Winter’s old chambers; however, we don’t get the opportunity to explore the inside.
As the days past, the young woman begins exploring the house, left alone to her own devices she discovers hidden rooms and passageways. After entering through a hidden door, she discovers old correspondence from a 1935 Masquerade Ball, suspected to be the last ball that Rebecca de Winters was alive.
In a tour of the grounds, Mrs. de Winter comes upon an old groundskeeper, knowledgeable about the late Mrs. de Winter’s death who he says drowned at sea many years ago. When Mrs. de Winters presses Maxim about her, he once again disengages, ignoring her questions and persistence when it comes to her death. Everything in the house seems to have initials, signatures and notes all relating back to the mysterious Rebecca. Unable to seek answers through Maxim, Mrs. de Winter takes the investigation into her own hands, urgent to find the truth about her death.
Caught up in the mystery of Rebecca, the new Mrs. de Winters attempts to re-create the version of her that she has made up in her mind. Committed to giving Maxim the new re-imagining, she hosts a new Masquerade Ball. She comes down the stars in a dress, a wig of dark hair, looking exactly like Rebecca, his late wife. Upon her reveal, Maxim looks as if he saw a ghost, ordering her to go upstairs and change. It is only then that she realizes Mrs. Danvers had set her up to look like Rebecca’s replica.
On the eve of the party, a damaged boat is recovered from the sea, the boat that corresponds to the late Rebecca. As Mrs. de Winter continues looking for answers, she confronts Maxim, demanding to know what happened. Maxim then reveals that he killed his wife, out of hate versus love. Prior to Rebecca departing for sea, he damaged her boat and killed her, then played the grieving widow. Mrs. de Winter’s quickly takes her husband’s side as the investigation becomes a criminal trial. As the lawyers begin asking question in court, the largest piece of the mystery was how she died? Was it murder or suicide?
As someone who has neither read the book, nor seen the 1940 Adaptation, I thought “Rebecca” was an entertaining watch. However, the film is unable to commit to the horror/thriller genre, instead it seems like an outdated period piece. The re-imagining of “Rebecca” is apparently a shot by shot re-make of Hitchcock’s 1940 adaptation, providing no new takes on the gothic novel’s premise. An interesting version would have been setting the piece in the modern space, instead of dwelling in the year that it was originally written.
Still, “Rebecca” proves a slight haunting, but engaging watch. Nothing much here for the Academy at the 2021 Oscar Ceremony except, perhaps, Costume Design.
And that’s the stich.
Grade: B
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