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COVID-19 Special: 'Rebecca' (12)



Director: Ben Wheatley 

Cast: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas 

Where can I watch?: Rebecca is streaming on Netflix

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: Director Ben Wheatley has a rather eclectic, and certainly unusual, back catalogue. From the darkly comic, low-budget Sightseers to the hypnotic High-Rise (a novel once considered un-filmable) and even to his star-studded turn at the helm of Free Fire, each of his movies is peppered with black humour, absurdity and a generous dollop of creativity. It seems strange, then, that his adaptation of Rebecca should be so wholly unremarkable - it actually feels as though Wheatley's flair has been stifled. At points, there are hints of his old ways, and there is an undeniable sense of unease: dogs barking at nothing; sleepwalking; a nightmare in which weeds suck our nameless protagonist (Lily James) downwards; and a grandmother who eerily claims that Maxim de Winter's (Armie Hammer) new bride isn't his wife. However, all this potential creepiness goes completely to waste and it all descends into a rather bland, paint-by-numbers narrative that feels long even at the relatively short two-hour runtime. I don't do scary, but I wanted to be unnerved by this film - I wanted Wheatley to take the original text and shake it up and leave me reaching for the cushion in case of a scary moment. Instead, I was actually rather bored, despite Kristin Scott Thomas' (taking on the role of Mrs Danvers) best efforts and severely pinched face. That being said, Rebecca is visually sumptuous, with excellent costumes and decadent bedspreads aplenty, and it's not as though the film is poorly made... It's just a bit dull. 

A COVID-19 Must-Watch?: Eh, it's alright. Rebecca starts out quite strongly, with touches of Wheatley's penchant for the unusual, and then completely loses its way and becomes rather bland and mediocre. For all the sumptuous set dressing and lovely exterior shots of the infamous house, this adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel ends up being really rather unremarkable - hardly a homage to the original text. 

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