I love the novel, as so many people do, and I find it rather disappointing to watch it be wasted on such a bland and uninteresting movie.
First of all, Lily James is far too charming and beautiful to play a convincing Mrs. De Winter. Don't get me wrong, she is lovely in every single way, but that's the problem! Mrs. De Winter is supposed to be an ordinary and insecure young girl, but Lily just reeks of confidence and beauty! The film does it's best to dress her down in plain and colorless clothing but it's no use. She simply has far to much personality to come across as someone unnoticeable. No way near the pale and reticent girl we follow throughout the book.
Armie Hammer is a couple of years her senior, at best. The whole plot of Rebecca is built upon the insecurities of the new Mrs. De Winter, and that includes the very noticeable age gap between her and Maxim. In the film, this is completely left out and we are given none of these power dynamics whatsoever. They look as if they could be the same age!
Kristin Scott Thomas is brilliant as always, but she comes of more creepy than anything. Mrs Danvers is supposed to be mysterious and cold, not explicitly evil like some kind of devilish caricature. There really is no need to give this character away so early in the film. The suspense of whether or not Mrs. Danvers was evil or if it was all in the main characters head was half the fun of the book.
The movie also does quite a terrible job at making us wonder whether or not the previous Mrs. De Winter is haunting Manderley or not. In the book, us readers are given a decent amount of time to ask ourselves this very question. Is Rebecca actually terrorizing the main character? Is her ghost wandering the grounds at night or even planning to return with the help of Mrs. Danvers? It's a ghost story without an actual ghost, which is part of its brilliance.
Never mind this review if you like soapy Netflix versions of things. Like most Netflix productions it looks really good and has very good looking actors in it.
First of all, Lily James is far too charming and beautiful to play a convincing Mrs. De Winter. Don't get me wrong, she is lovely in every single way, but that's the problem! Mrs. De Winter is supposed to be an ordinary and insecure young girl, but Lily just reeks of confidence and beauty! The film does it's best to dress her down in plain and colorless clothing but it's no use. She simply has far to much personality to come across as someone unnoticeable. No way near the pale and reticent girl we follow throughout the book.
Armie Hammer is a couple of years her senior, at best. The whole plot of Rebecca is built upon the insecurities of the new Mrs. De Winter, and that includes the very noticeable age gap between her and Maxim. In the film, this is completely left out and we are given none of these power dynamics whatsoever. They look as if they could be the same age!
Kristin Scott Thomas is brilliant as always, but she comes of more creepy than anything. Mrs Danvers is supposed to be mysterious and cold, not explicitly evil like some kind of devilish caricature. There really is no need to give this character away so early in the film. The suspense of whether or not Mrs. Danvers was evil or if it was all in the main characters head was half the fun of the book.
The movie also does quite a terrible job at making us wonder whether or not the previous Mrs. De Winter is haunting Manderley or not. In the book, us readers are given a decent amount of time to ask ourselves this very question. Is Rebecca actually terrorizing the main character? Is her ghost wandering the grounds at night or even planning to return with the help of Mrs. Danvers? It's a ghost story without an actual ghost, which is part of its brilliance.
Never mind this review if you like soapy Netflix versions of things. Like most Netflix productions it looks really good and has very good looking actors in it.