When the world heard that Netflix was making a 2020 Rebecca, everyone was expecting to hear this new spin on the classic novel and Alfred Hitchcock award-winning film. But like the premise of the story, the new one just doesn’t measure up.
The movie had relly big shoes to fill and it’s sad to say it did not succeed.
Plot
Rebecca follows Lily James’ character, who is only ever referred to as Mrs de Winter. Mrs de Winter is pretty much viewed as a placeholder for Mr de Winter’s deceased wife Rebecca, whom she is constantly compared to. Mrs de Winter adjusts to her new position while trying to figure out what really happened to Rebecca.
Mr Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer) is apparenttly grieving due to his wife’s drowning the year before. There seems to be a large hole in his life that looms over him and Manderley, his lavish estate and ancestral home.
The story begins with Mr and Mrs de Winter having a whirlwind romance and getting married within a short time. But as Mrs de Winter follows her new husband to Manderley, the dynamic changes as she discovers that Rebecca’s ghost still resides in the mansion.
At the mansion, we meet Mrs Danvers, who cared for Rebecca for most of her life. Because of this, she remains loyal to her even in death and thus comes to resent the new Mrs de Winter; whom she considers a cheap replacement for her mistress.
Mrs Danvers becomes a vessel for Rebecca’s vengeful spirit and torments the couple in their own home.
Review
Although there is nothing supernatural about the events, the film does a good job of making you feel like there is indeed a presence in the manor; though it never truly manifests. Even with its fault, I still think the movie succeeded in making us believe that something strange was going on here.
Locations
Rebecca was shot on location so the cinematography is gorgeous. The locations from the South of France and the cliffs outside Manderley make for very stunning visuals.
However, Manderley itself was a bit of visual letdown. It is reduced to a home that pales in comparison to the Hitchcock one and looks like a smaller version of Downton Abbey.
Mrs Danvers
In trying to answer mysteries about Mrs Danvers and her gripe against Mrs de Winter; the answers that writer Jane Goldman came up with are less than exciting. It’s a huge letdown from what was hinted at in the Hitchcock film.
The LGBT hints of the relationship between Rebecca and Mrs Davers have been stripped away instead of played up; as one would expect in a 2020 movie. One would think the main reason to remake this movie would be the lack of censors that existed in 1940.
At the end of the movie, Mrs Danvers burns down Manderley to destroy everything that Mr de Winter had left and then she drowns herself. This ending seems messy until you look at the true meaning behind it.
As mentioned earlier, Danvers is the personification of Rebecca and she symbolically destroyed Manderley like her mistress wanted to. Then she killed herself, signifying a sort of exorcism of Rebecca’s spirit.
In the end, Mr and Mrs de Winter are finally free of Rebecca and are happily married; contrary to what Mrs Danvers said moments before her death.
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Unfortunately, this movie skipped an iconic scene featuring Mrs Danvers, which was the whole reason the movie won an Oscar. Mrs Danvers’ terrifying monologue was glorious; filled with nasty invective, delivered with sharp precision.
In the 1940 movie, Mrs Danvers nearly convincing the second Mrs de Winter to kill herself is a classic movie scene, a horror grounded in reality; hypnotic but with no supernatural quality other than Danvers’ cruelty.
It’s a glorious scene and in the remake, it lasts less than a minute and carries none of the power of the original monologue before being cut off far too soon.
Instead, they add a scene of Mr de Winter sleepwalking; yet they do nothing to make that scene worth including. Mr de Winter’s role is significantly reduced to give Mrs de Winter more screen time to play detective.
Rebecca vs Rebecca
Throughout the movie, Mrs Danvers constantly compared Mrs de Winter to Rebecca; commenting on how she wasn’t as beautiful or classy as the former Mrs de Winter. Much like that, the 1940 film and the novel leave a lot to be desired from the 2020 film.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca is a phenomenal piece of art that won him the Best Picture and Best Cinematography awards at the Academy Awards. 2020 Rebecca did not even offer an update on the time period and that just seemed a bit lazy to me.
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Hitchcock took the novel Rebecca and added his signature mystery and heightened suspense to it. However, the new version of Rebecca resembles a Lifetime or Hallmark movie. Maybe that’s the path Netflix wants to go on now.
There are elements of this movie that are more true to the novel than the Hitchcock version because the film production code isn’t around anymore.
You’ll probably like this movie if you have not and will not see the 1940 version. But while the 1940 version is the iconic Rebecca, the 2020 version just seems like Lifetime Becky. Watch them and judge for yourself.
