Over the last decade, writer/director Ben Wheatley has amassed quite a following with fans anticipating each of his releases with bated breath. Up until now, the Brighton-born filmmaker has made quite a name for himself wIth cult horror and action thrillers such as Kill List and Free Fire, while his 2015 film High-Rise saw him adapt J.G Ballard’s cult classic novel of the same name.
Wheatley’s most recent film is however a surprising departure for someone usually associated with fresh and contemporary narratives. It is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's best selling 1938 novel Rebecca, a book which gained an even bigger notoriety when it was first adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, becoming one of the most loved movies in the history of cinema.
The story centres around a young American woman (Lily James) who has come to Europe to be a lady’s companion to the insufferable Mrs. Van Hopper (The Handmaid’s Tale’s Ann Dowd in fine form). While staying at an upmarket hotel on the French riviera, the young woman meets and subsequently falls in love with Maxim de Winter (Call Me By Your Name star Armie Hammer), a handsome young widower who soon asks her to be his wife.
Back in England, the new Mrs. de Winter finds herself isolated and completely out of place at her new husband's imposing and stuffy family estate. To make matters worse, she subsequently realises that the former lady of the house, Rebecca, has left her mark on the place and the estate’s staff, notably the stern and patronising Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas).
From the offset, there’s a sense that Wheatley and screenwriters Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse have tried to make this story their own. And to some extent, they have succeeded. In its new incarnation, Rebecca feels more rigid and slightly stagier than the original, but the story itself still manages to retain a certain element of surprise.
This being Wheatley, there is an undeniable mischievous and knowing undertone in the way some of his peripheral characters interact with each other, which is a stark reminder of the director’s earlier genre pieces. Having said that, it would have been interesting to see him throw an even bigger curveball storyline wise.
The film is beautifully shot by long-time Wheatley collaborator and award-winning cinematographer Laurie Rose. He uses light and shadow in the most extraordinary way and delivers an exhilarating interpretation of du Maurier’s dense text all the while adding his own flair to the proceedings.
Those wondering about Hammer’s English accent can breathe a sigh of relief. The American actor delivers a convincing and perfectly adequate turn as Mr de Winter, while Lilly James is hugely likeable as his troubled young bride. However, it is Kristin Scott Thomas who steals the show from the get go as the execrable Mrs. Danvers. Her steely glances, condescending tone and constant berating of her new mistress are almost pitch perfect.
There’s no denying that many will keep on wondering why we needed a new adaptation of one of the most iconic films of all time, but it’s clear that Wheatley has given us a modern interpretation of a classic that only he could have come up with.
