| |
REBECCA
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock is one of most renowned American directors, with such classics as VERTIGO,
PSYCHO, REAR WINDOW, and NORTH BY NORTHWEST to his credit. Despite all of the
great films he directed, he never once won an Academy Award for Best Director, and only one of
his films ever won Best Picture. That film is 1940’s REBECCA. This being his only film to win
big at the Oscars, I had high expectations, which were met with a lowly film.
The plot concerns a rich man named Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), who is vacationing in
Monte Carlo. His beloved wife had died a year ago, and he is still mourning for her. When we first
see him, he is standing on the edge of a cliff and looks as if he is about to jump off. A young
woman (Joan Fontaine) approaches him, and throughout the film’s first third, they fall in love and
are married. When Maxim takes his new bride back to his estate, Maderley, she finds herself less
than welcome, and it feels as if Rebecca, the first Madame de Winter, still has a hold on everyone
there.
My problems with the film started early on. Right from the beginning there is nothing to grab on
to. The romance is rushed and does not feel in the least bit authentic, which is not helped at all by
the dreadfully wooden acting. The scene where Maxim makes clear his interest in this woman is
not only laughable, from the phony tears Joan Fontaine sheds to the dreadful dialogue both actors
are forced to spew out, but it makes him look downright mean (he nearly kicks her out of his car).
Not once did I believe that they were in love, or that they were anything but cardboard cutout
characters, for that matter.
The plot is almost as boring as the characters. It drags through scenes of the new Madame de
Winter fumbling around the house, getting the cold shoulder from everyone (especially the
housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers), and wondering why everyone loved Rebecca so much. This goes on
for an hour and forty minutes, before a major plot twist, which I will not spoil, occurs. Up to this
point there was not the slightest bit of suspense. It seems that Hitchcock wanted to kill any
possible tension, which, coming from him, is greatly out of character. Even after the twist, it does
not become remotely interesting until the final fifteen or twenty minutes, which is nowhere near
enough to save the film, or make it even worth watching.
The fact that this is Hitchcock’s only film to ever win Best Picture at the Academy Awards is just
another reason to never trust the Academy’s judgment.
My Rating: **
Review by Jared Mills
Back to Reviews
|
