Retelling a classical tale

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Retelling a classical tale

Sunday, 25 October 2020 | Shalini Sakesna

Rebecca

Netflix

*ing:  Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Riley

Rated: 5.5/10

Many of us have either seen or read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Hence, there are no surprises when it comes to the climax or what is to come next. What is different here than the 1940 psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock is of course the way the two films have dealt with the same story. Then there is the whole black and white as opposed to colour. The chilliness and the cold reserve that played out so brilliantly in the Hitchcock version is totally missing here. There is Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine as opposed to Lily James and Armie Hammer.

This Rebecca leaves you cold, unmoved and somewhat disconnected. Though it is never right nor fair to compare two movies with the same story as a viewer it is difficult to look at this film without doing the unforgivable. However, for those who have not seen the Hitchcock version, it will be a treat to watch the book come alive.

While there is no way one can even compare Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine characters to Lily James and Armie Hammer’s, the latter manage to hold their ground well. James, who has done movies like Mama Mia, Here We Go Again! and Cinderella, plays Mrs de Winter well. But instead of coming off as somebody who is naïve and innocent, she comes across as a person who is more curious and we know where that leads. Still one can’t ignore her performance here which is delivered well. One however, finds it difficult to understand what her motive is especially when she realises that her husband did kill albeit an accident and covered it up — is it because she realises that she is the only woman her husband loved or it is something entirely different? This Rebecca leaves the viewer to interpret the last look of the second Mrs de Winter.

A movie to watch if not seen Hitchcock’s version.

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