Rebecca

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller
1940

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A naive young girl (Joan Fontaine) meets and falls in love with an older widower (Laurence Olivier). She accompanies him back to his home, but soon discovers she will always live in the shadow of Rebecca, his first wife, and a woman whom everyone seemed to simply adore.

Review:

Tim: Rebecca was Alfred Hitchcock's first American Hollywood movie, and only Hitchcock film to be awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture. This is a shame, because Hitchcock created so many wonderful, unforgettable films, and this one, though solid, is not quite among his best. I still liked this movie, though- it is a competently made mystery/thriller, and keeps the audience on its toes. While not as classic as some of Hitchcock's other films, this is still an intense, entertaining movie.

The story was adapted from Daphne Du Maurier's novel, and is a pretty interesting story. A young woman discovers she will live forever in the shadow of her husband's deceased wife, which serves as a constant reminder of how she will never measure up to her greatness. That is psychologically challenging enough, but she also has to deal with the entire servant staff, all of whom seem to view her as an intruder, and an inferior one at that. This is pretty heavy stuff, and interesting to watch a fragile, nervous young woman attempt to deal with. While this does afford some chilling scenes, there are also a number of places where the film drags. At over two hours long, it could probably have been tightened up a bit. At a certain point in the film, we understand and "get" the situation, and simply want the story to progress. It eventually does, but it takes far too long to build up to the conclusion.

The cast, though good, also hurt this movie a bit. I like the casting of Laurence Olivier as the troubled Maxim de Winter, but I wished he would have given more to the role. It is already difficult to like his character, but he played it very quietly and disinterested. I never really loved his performance and felt like he kept me at a distance with his performance. I really liked Joan Fontaine, and I thought she did a terrific job of playing a character many people would see as weak and annoying. Indeed, there were certainly times when I almost screamed for her to show some backbone. This was frustrating, but is also a testament to Fontaine's performance.

I really believe that one of the film's big flaws was the relationship between Olivier and Fontaine. I never really bought them as lovers or having any real relationship of any kind. I was not surprised to learn that Olivier treated Fontaine badly (in real life) because he wished Vivien Leigh had gotten the part. I think this dynamic ruined their on-screen chemistry (even though Hitchcock played this up to evoke the right emotions from his stars). I saw through this, though, and I was never a fan of these two actors when they had to appear together. This was a major flaw of the movie.

I also really enjoyed the performance of Judith Anderson of the terrifying Mrs. Danvers. Hitchcock is greatly responsible for making her appear almost a phantasm, but Anderson deserves credit for the chilling, complex portrayal of a woman longing for the dead and unhappy with those still living. I hated the character, even while I marveled and the impressive performance of Anderson. She helped this movie quite a bit.

While I don't believe this film represents the best work of Alfred Hitchcock, I still agree that it is a classic, suspenseful thriller. I did buy into this story, and I was legitimately shocked by some of the film's twists. This is a very solid, well made thriller. I was impressed that this film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, although I'm not surprised it won only two. I don't know if I agree that this was the best film of 1940, but I enjoyed this movie thoroughly, and I am glad that a Hitchcock film achieved Hollywood's highest honor.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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