My Cousin Rachel

Seen at the Gala Cinema in Warrawong, NSW

Cecil says: Rebecca was one of those films that haunted me as a child: the scene with the cackling madwoman on the roof of the burning mansion house left me cowering behind the sofa as a 7 year old (or whatever age it was). So when I saw that My Cousin Rachel  was another Daphne Du Maurier adaptation, I was not put off. And surely 50+ year old me would cope with any terrifying characters this plot might conjure up.

I think the trouble with 50+ year old me is that I have no time for the wasted energy of youthful infatuations. And that’s what most of this film is about: a young 24/25 year old (the birthday is a significant point in the storyline) infatuated with the woman who is the widow of his foster father. She turns up in his stately home and wins his heart in no time instead of being subjected to his inquiry into how his beloved parent had died.

Sure there are some mysteries about Rachel Weisz’s Rachel (yes actor and character share the same name) and as the story develops, more and more of her behaviour and actions leave the viewer uncertain as to whether she is evil or just confused, and even more uncertain of what really happened in her life. But right from the start she failed to engage me, and I would have been cautious about any involvement emotional or financial if I had been Philip.

I’m not sure whether this was because Rachel Weisz didn’t draw me in, or whether it was the film’s direction. Or was it back in Du Maurier’s text that my dislike would have found its source?

Having seen that the original 1952 version starred Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland, I am inclined to seek out the old black and white movie rather than read the novel.

But I felt less engaged by the 2016/7 version of My Cousin Rachel  than I have by any film for quite some time.

Any redeeming aspects? I quite liked the early scene with the horse and carriage going up an Umbrian hill, as it vaguely reminded me of Room with a View. I quite liked Seecombe, the loyal but rather gruff butler, who dressed more like a farmhand than a posh person’s main man, though it did make me wonder if the northern English nobility were a bit more rough round the edges than the image we have from Downton Abbey…

**.5

Bea says: I loved Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, both as novels and film/TV adaptations, but had never seen the earlier version of this or read it.  The story is good – typical du Maurier, with strong, enigmatic female characters and a good dose of crime and psychology.  But, like Cecil, something didn’t quite work in this film.  It wasn’t particularly memorable (we are blogging sometime after seeing it), and it felt rather – stiff, like everyone was trying too hard and not just allowing the strong plot to run. 

I would now like to read the novel, in case that feeling is in the book too; I haven’t’ researched it but perhaps it was an earlier work and du Maurier hadn’t really hit her stride.  Weisz is usually good, and she is really all I can remember about the film; everyone else has faded into oblivion.  Perhaps she was too strong for the other characters and that explains the held back feeling?

Worth a look, but may disappoint.

**1/2