Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas star in Ben Wheatley’s new Netflix adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic Gothic novel Rebecca
We could all do with a lavish new Netflix movie to make us feel right at home in these increasingly bleak fall months
Now the streaming giant has released a new romantic thriller with gothic undertones in the form of the new movie Rebecca
The cast of the glossy period drama includes former Downton Abbey star Lily James, social media’s Armie Hammer and Four Weddings and a Funeral icon Kristin Scott Thomas
Having already started a limited theatrical release, Rebecca is now ready to watch on Netflix, which means we can immerse ourselves in the drama she offers
The new film is based on the 1938 classic Gothic novel of the same name by Daphné du Maurier
It’s fictitious but Daphne had an experience similar to Rebecca’s heroine in that she once found letters between her husband Tommy Browning and his ex-fiancée, Jan Ricardo, who drove a wedge between them
The book was later adapted by du Maurier herself into a play in 1939 before being turned into a 1940 film by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock
This film starred Joan Fontaine as Mrs. de Winter, Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers
He has previously delivered the critically acclaimed thrillers Kill List and A Field in England, the dystopian cult film High Rise and the action comedy Free Fire.
Ben’s previous film before Rebecca was festive (sort of) BBC comedy-drama Happy New Year Colin Burstead
Mamma Mia, here we go again! Star Lily James plays a young woman who becomes the new Mrs. de Winter when she meets and falls in love with Maxim de Winter while working on the French Riviera
Maxim is played by Oscar nominated Call Me By Your Name star Armie Hammer in new film
Meanwhile, Franco-British thespian Kristin Scott Thomas takes on the iconic role of Maxim’s crooked housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who runs the house from her Manderlay home.
Evil star Sam Riley plays Jack Favell, a face from Manderlay’s past, while Bodyguard actress Keeley Hawes plays Maxim’s kindly married sister, Beatrice Lacy
The Handmaid’s Tale actress Ann Dowd portrays Ms. Van Hopper, Ms. de Winter’s employer at the start of the film
Rebecca follows a young middle-class heroine who arrives on the French Riviera to work as Ms. Van Hopper’s personal assistant
While staying in a luxury hotel, she meets the handsome and very rich Maxim de Winter with whom she embarks on an unlikely but passionate adventure with
As the new couple return to England and to Maxim’s big house, Manderlay, the new Mrs. de Winter finds her marriage and existence haunted by the presence of Maxim’s late wife, Rebecca
The memory of the late Rebecca is also kept alive by the intriguing and disturbing housewife, Mrs. Danvers
The obvious changes from the novel Rebecca in the new film are the age of her main romantic couple
In the novel, the new Mrs. de Winter is in her twenties but Lily James is 31, while Maxim is 42 but Armie Hammer is 34
Wheatley explained to the Kermode podcast & Mayo’s Film Review: “The main change is that Lily James is not as young as the character in the book She can play naive, but I didn’t feel like watching another movie on an old man and a young woman I felt the real power dynamic between them could still happen without having to play that age card «
The new movie also spends more time with the character of Ms. Danvers to explain her obsessive relationship with the late Rebecca
Finally, the ending of Ms. Danvers’ story is an entirely new addition from Wheatley, as is the final scene and the heroine’s monologue from Lily James, which gives a clearer conclusion to the story that the novel more ambiguous
It looks like Rebecca’s new adaptation is dividing opinion as it is rated 53% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which means it was rated “Rotten”
Critics’ consensus reads: « Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca remake is lovely to see, but it never quite gets into the heart of classic source material – or really justifies its own existence. »
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Netflix, Rebecca, Lily James, Daphné du Maurier, Ben Wheatley, Armie Hammer, Mme de Winter
World news – UK – Netflix’s Rebecca explained as Lily’s heroine James haunted by the death of her wife husband