Rebecca [PG]

Maxim de Winter has been left widowed and bereft by the death of his beautiful and adored wife Rebecca. But happiness glimmers for Maxim again when he meets a young and adorably clueless girl whom he marries after a whirlwind romance. What begins as a happy and perfect marriage soon spirals out of control when Maxim brings the new Mrs. de Winter home to his imposing estate; Manderley where the staff and everyone there, including Maxim himself, appear to still be in the power of the deceased Rebecca. As the young bride tries harder and harder to live up to what’s expected of her, she becomes ever more convinced that Rebecca still exercises her power over Manderley and Maxim from beyond the grave. 

I am so keen the read the book now! Rebecca is a brilliant movie that’s absolutely packed to bursting with plot misdirection, wonderful performances, and fantastically emotional chaos. Hitchcock’s first American movie, it was also the first to bring him the Academy Award for Best Picture, a bit of a shame seeing that he had done so many excellent films beforehand. However, despite this, Rebecca is another classic in the Hitchcock repertoire as his sophisticated and haunting cinematic style blends flawlessly with Daphne Du Maurier’s gothic novel. 

Maxim de Winter has been left widowed and bereft by the death of his beautiful and adored wife Rebecca. But happiness glimmers for Maxim again when he meets a young and adorably clueless girl whom he marries after a whirlwind romance. What begins as a happy and perfect marriage soon spirals out of control when Maxim brings the new Mrs. de Winter home to his imposing estate; Manderley where the staff and everyone there, including Maxim himself, appear to still be in the power of the deceased Rebecca. As the young bride tries harder and harder to live up to what’s expected of her, she becomes ever more convinced that Rebecca still exercises her power over Manderley and Maxim from beyond the grave. 

Akin to Spellbound, Rebecca is engaging right from the off beginning with a very quick but wholly beautiful romance, which is only heightened by the beautiful orchestral soundtrack that accompanies it, and then steadily progressing into a suspenseful thriller that doesn’t bother to tip-toe around that old classic notion of foul play. The story lends itself beautifully to a Hitchcock-esque interpretation as it is so filled with twists and turns of the plot that the audience works themselves into an absolute frenzy as they try to come to some sort of rational conclusion, although we never completely rule out the supernatural explanation. Between suspicious events, actions, and a few suss characters we’re constantly being thrown this way and that in terms of plot misdirection. 

The chemistry between the two romantic leads, Lawrence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, is admittedly not as touching, dramatic, and beautiful as Gregory Peck ad Ingrid Bergman’s in Spellbound, but it’s one that still stands atop a pedestal in the Hall of Classic Loves. Both actors deliver wonderful performances with Fontaine showing just the right amount of devout affection and love, and Olivier not giving anything away… until he loses his temper of course. 

Starring George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Gladys Cooper, and Leo G. Carroll, Rebecca is a brilliant romantic thriller packed with drama, emotional chaos, judgements, innocence, mysteries, and romance. I really loved it and am so keen to get a copy of the book to read.