Ben Wheatley's much-heralded Netflix version of the classic novel/film has made great pains to sell itself as 'the story not as you think you know it', but the reality is that it does pretty much what you expect. It is a lush, sumptuous staging of the tale of an ordinary lady's companion (Lily James) who falls in love with a prize widower (Armie Hammer) in a gorgeously-created sun-soaked South of France but finds herself battling the past and the echoes of his previous wife at his grand isolated country estate of Manderley. This new more commercial arena for Ben Wheatley has flashes of his usual directorial wit and flair, and the whole film is beautifully staged and shot from start to finish, but it feels a little uninspired overall. Armie Hammer' intelligent acting is a real plus, and Kristin Scott Thomas was born to play the frosty and manipulative housekeeper Mrs Danvers, but Lily James rarely make more than an adequate impression as the bewildered new bride. This 2020 Rebecca is perfectly acceptable, but seems something of a missed opportunity to do something more adventurous with the material and the resources it clearly has at its disposal.
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