I enjoyed the performance of Rachel Weisz, cast as her namesake, the title character, in this second telling of the Daphne DuMaurier novel, pleasing to the eye but pondering to the brain. The British coastline location certainly beats the 20th Century Fox backlot of the original, and there are some stunning vistas in this mystery about the widow of the cousin of young Sam Claflin, and his suspicions that she may have been responsible for his death. Weisz certainly is fiery as the mysterious widow, but I knew as much about her coming out of the film as I did with her introduction 20 minutes into it.
In making the character of Rachel much more openly fiery and independent and blatant about her determination to be slave to no man, they are setting her character up to have been an outcast in the period in which it is set. Certainly, she could have been presented as a subtly scheming woman, similar to the characters that Margaret Lockwood played in all those terrific Gainsborough 40's melodramas, but as good as Weisz is, the writing presents her in ways that would have immediately put her under suspicion.
In the original, the heat between Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton was increased slowly. Here, the heat would have turned the big house into Mandalay at the end of "Rebecca" very quickly. Production values of this film are exquisite so it certainly is worth watching, and there are some minor details that are so exquisite that it becomes frustrating that the major details didn't quite gel. A fascinating disappointment, not quite a complete failure, but perhaps something that deserves BBC mini series treatments like so many other great Gothic novels has gotten.
In making the character of Rachel much more openly fiery and independent and blatant about her determination to be slave to no man, they are setting her character up to have been an outcast in the period in which it is set. Certainly, she could have been presented as a subtly scheming woman, similar to the characters that Margaret Lockwood played in all those terrific Gainsborough 40's melodramas, but as good as Weisz is, the writing presents her in ways that would have immediately put her under suspicion.
In the original, the heat between Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton was increased slowly. Here, the heat would have turned the big house into Mandalay at the end of "Rebecca" very quickly. Production values of this film are exquisite so it certainly is worth watching, and there are some minor details that are so exquisite that it becomes frustrating that the major details didn't quite gel. A fascinating disappointment, not quite a complete failure, but perhaps something that deserves BBC mini series treatments like so many other great Gothic novels has gotten.