Rebecca

The lead actress was incredibly annoying! The writing was horrendous, the lead was so weak and timid, she jumped at everything and was incredibly irritating. The only reason I gave it a 1 was because of the beautiful house and scenery.

I was looking forward to this production as a fan of the book and the Hitchcock film and was wondering what a new version would add to it. The answer is - nothing, apart from a bit of sex on the beach ( not the cocktail). The two leads were totally uncharismatic. I am not familiar with Armie Hammer as an actor, he gave a creditable performance and looked handsome. Unfortunately, it wasn't of Maxim De Winter. There was no class, he was much too gentle and friendly and when he admitted how much he hated Rebecca, he just came over as a wimp. Lily James played the part of the un-named second wife as a school girl, why on earth would Maxim be interested in her. There was no gothic tension, Manderley appeared to be a large open library, as everyone trecked through a large tiled hallway that went on for ages. There was some beautiful photography of the South of France, but the restaurant refusing to serve the paid companion because she wasn't a guest was nonsense. She had a room at the hotel. After the first hour, I began to be bored and lost interest, but felt duty bound to stick with it to the end. I liked the performance of the cad by Sam Riley and it took me ages to work out where I had seen him before and then remembered it was the TV mini series SS-GB. However, in that he had a deep gravelly voice, damaged it was said at the time for singing Heavy Metal. Now he has morphed into SImon Williams. Everything dragged on and then was wound up quickly - a case of they think it's all over, it is now. If she was alive, Daphne Du Maurier must wonder where she went wrong.

This adds nothing to a classic. It is so lame of a remake, all it can do is try not to embarrass itself too badly as it did with that horrendous yellow suit. The acting is subpar, the few changes just takes away from the story, the costumes made you cringe at times, there was no mystery, no suspense, no foreboding atmosphere, no thrill and not even the Danvers character could add anything redeeming to this. There was nothing in this version that made the original such a timeless classic. At least in others adaptions, there was something of worth, even if it could not live up to its predecessor. You might want to stick to the original and forget this ever was made.

This movie is not a 'remake' of the 1940 Hitchcock version. It is a book adaptation, which is what I think people tend to forget. I have read the book and seen the earlier film version and I think others are being a bit overdramatic with comparisons. It is fine to prefer the Hitchcock version but I think this movie did a good job. It was enjoyable, acted well, and beautifully shot. I was expecting this to be a fun, light hearted romance based off other's comments and was pleasantly surprised. It did have a Great Gatsby feel at first when they were in Monte Carlo but that quickly changes once they get to Manderley and the difference is stark. The psychological aspect was definitely there and I found myself very anxious watching the narrator deal with the 'ghost' of Rebecca. Lily James did well portraying the main character as insecure and paranoid, and much of it was communicated through her body language. I felt her emotions right along with her. My biggest disappointment was the lack of relationship development with Max, and I also think they could have cast someone older because the large age difference isn't present here. Overall, I enjoyed this film. It could have went a bit longer, and I was fine with the ending. I actually prefer the ending over the Hitchcock version where Rebecca died accidentally instead of actually being murdered by her husband. To me that totally changes the whole narrative and I'm glad they kept true to the book there. It's a heavier story and I appreciated the upbeat final scene. Definitely a movie to watch and form your own opinions on. If you enjoy gothic romances, give this a chance.