Netflix has released the first trailer for Ben Wheatly’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic novel, Rebecca. The film stars Armie Hammer as the dashing handsome widower Maxim de Winter who enters into a whirlwind romance with a young woman (Lily James). After they get married, the naïve and inexperienced bride finds herself battling the shadow of Maxim’s first wife, the elegant and urbane Rebecca, whose haunting legacy is kept alive by Manderley’s sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas).
Rebecca is the second adaptation notable adaptation of Du Maurier’s novel of the same name. The first major film adaptation was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and it starred Laurence Olivier as Max, Joan Fontaine as the heroine, and Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers.
There will be a lot of comparisons being made considering that this is a remake of a film adaptation. It’s almost hard not to do it. But maybe a new direction, with new writers, and a gorgeous cast could be just the thing to make us believe that this film could be its own thing. Wheatly definitely got the gothic romance aspect of it down with all of the dark tones, twisty camera work, and cold vibes. So it should be fun.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for Rebecca:
“After a whirlwind romance in Monte Carlo with handsome widower Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), a newly married young woman (Lily James) arrives at Manderley, her new husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast. Naive and inexperienced, she begins to settle into the trappings of her new life, but finds herself battling the shadow of Maxim’s first wife, the elegant and urbane Rebecca, whose haunting legacy is kept alive by Manderley’s sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas). Directed by Ben Wheatley (High Rise, Free Fire) and produced by Working Title Films (Emma, Darkest Hour), REBECCA is a mesmerising and gorgeously rendered psychological thriller based on Daphne du Maurier’s beloved 1938 gothic novel.”
Rebecca also stars Keeley Hawes, Ann Dowd, Sam Riley, Tom Goodman-Hill, Mark Lewis Jones, John Hollingworth, and Bill Paterson.
Jane Goldman and Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse wrote the screenplay.
Netflix has scheduled to open Rebecca in limited theaters on October 21, 2020, and follow it up with a streaming debut shortly after that.
