A good story is like a roller coaster of hills and valleys. The hills build suspense and drama and the valleys provide relief and relaxation - and enjoyment. This movie has no valleys and no enjoyment (or very little). The original story by Daphne Du Maurier is of a charming ingenue orphan who meets and falls in love with a mysterious, haunted, sophisticated, aristocrat - Maxime DeWinter. This interpretation is a hero's tale of an abject mouse who survives persecution to rise up over her tormentor, becomes a heroine who thwarts a police investigation to save her husband from prison and even attempts to save her persecutor (Mrs. Danvers) from a watery grave. The main character is so pathetic from the start it is hard to imagine why DeWinter falls in love with her. The transformation from mouse to feisty heroin who beards the lion (Danvers) in her own den is unbelievable, not to mention her transformation into Sherlock Holmes daringly chasing down clues. He, on the other hand is suspiciously bland and characterless; he has been stripped of his personality to such a degree that he is merely a placeholder for 'handsome brooding aristocrat.' Do we even care what happens to either of them? Not much. The complexity of the original story has been replaced with a single note in a minor key; it is repeated in every chord, louder and louder to attempt to build to a climax. I understand that the writers and director were trying to adapt this story for a contemporary audience which is desensitized to subtlety by highly sensational, violent, and epic tales, but they have twisted this story into something unrecognizable to the author and her fans. I gave it 6 stars instead of 5 because the settings are quite stunning.
Review of Rebecca
