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Rebecca (Ben Wheatley, 2020) is the latest adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 Gothic novel of the same name. The premise follows a young woman (Lily James) who meets a rich, albeit grieving widower, Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), on the continent; they fall in love, and this young woman soon becomes the new Mrs. de Winter. They return to England together, arriving at Maxim’s estate, Manderley, which is located in typical du Maurier territory: Cornwall. It’s not long before Mrs. de Winter begins to feel the presence of Rebecca, Maxim’s wife before her, and is forced to confront the legacy of that past relationship.

 

There is plenty for Rebecca to play with even on purely narrative terms: the difference between pre-marital love and post-marital stagnation, the framed narrative, emotional manipulation and the English class system snobbery being only a few examples. These all feature in this film, but only on a surface level. The subtext that Wheatley has proven to be very accomplished at developing in his other films is dismissed in favour of a superficial plot. This adaptation feels uninspired, almost as if it is one of those bland and voiceless carcasses that has been snatched away from a director by a studio on set or in the cutting room, dismembered and then stitched back together to keep up appearances of creative collaboration. There are hints of trademark playfulness and some interesting non-chronological edits slotted in here and there to remind us that this is a Ben Wheatley movie, and don’t you forget it—even if the rest of the film does. 

 

The cast, usually talented enough to merit watching a film by name alone, are also dragged down by this incarnation of Manderley. I have always been charmed and won over by Lily James onscreen, but parts of her performance feel fatally over-acted. Armie Hammer, whose English accent is at least decent, doesn’t convince either, particularly lacking the tortuous conflict the character supposedly feels to justify his awful behaviour. Kristin Scott Thomas definitely gives the best performance in the film in the iconic role of Mrs. Danvers, but even then, her performance is only alright in actuality. If you can’t show how interesting and wide-ranging a talented cast like this can be, your film is doomed.

 

There isn’t much more to say without further flagellating myself with my own disappointment. It’s not terrible, but it’s not worth investing time in, and there are plenty of better films from Wheatley and his cast to watch instead. In many ways, The Haunting of Bly Manor (Mike Flanagan, 2020) is a better adaptation, because it effectively and provocatively investigates how our past can haunt us, sometimes with fatal consequences. The film does achieve this in one capacity, but only for the cast and crew who now have this pointlessness stuck to their filmography. 

 

Rebecca is available to stream on Netflix from October 21.