“Stop asking silly questions and eat your egg”
If I’d known more about Rebecca before I watched the 1997 television adaptation
as part of my Lucy Cohu marathon, I might not have bothered. Not having seen it
before or read it, I assumed that her part – the titular role no less – might
have had a little more to do in the story but as the story is about the second
Mrs De Winter, this wasn’t the case. At all. The first half, 90 minutes in
total, featured one brief shot of her eyebrows and one of her hands. The second
not much better with tantalising glimpses of parts of her face and a few
snatched lines of dialogue (although Wikipedia informs me I’m lucky to even get
this!)
Based on Daphne Du Maurier’s 1938 novel, Arthur Hopcraft’s adaption directed
here by Jim O’Brien stretches over 3 hours and had to deal with the weight of a
much-watched (although not by me) version by Hitchcock but I have to say I
rather enjoyed watching it. The story focuses on the marital relations of Maxim
De Winter as he marries a young gamine he meets whilst spending the summer in
Monte Carlo less than a year after the mysterious death of his first wife
Rebecca, much beloved by simply everyone around. Thrust into an entirely new
and unfamiliar social milieu, the new Mrs De Winter has much to deal with, not
least the terrifying housekeeper Mrs Danvers, but it soon becomes apparent that
there’s more at stake here than class difficulties.
Whether intentional or not, this ends up being a rather fabulously camp thing.
From Faye Dunaway’s Mrs Van Hopper, hunting for gossip and celebs on the
Riviera, to Jonathan Cake’s scene-chewing Jack Favell, to the utter
deliciousness of Diana Rigg’s ominously looming Mrs Danvers, it’s all rather
gloriously over the top. The May-to-December romance of Charles Dance and
Emilia Fox is played very straight and the increasing mystery of exactly what
happened to her predecessor does take hold to create a rather compelling latter
third which I was entirely gripped by (if not entirely convinced – the new Mrs
De Winter is VERY understanding!)
So whilst this may not be ideal fodder for Lucy Cohu fans, it makes for highly
entertaining watching and has got me considering a Diana Rigg fest!
Labels: Charles Dance, Diana Rigg, Geraldine James, Ian McDiarmid, Jonathan Cake, Lucy Cohu, Michael Wynne, Patrick Romer, Robin Soans, Timothy West