Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas

Who cares about Rebecca next to Lily alive ! ‘You don’t look like any other…’ says one song. It’s guaranteed Armie thought the same thing when he saw her 😉.

Joking aside, we’ve got an 80 year newer version than Hitchcock’s. His movie took two Oscars, this one didn’t pick up any of the prizes. She had one BAFTA nomination, and the women’s society gave nomination for a ‘remake that shouldn’t have been recorded’. Are you kidding me…

So, chronologically : First I looked at the modern version (it was just fine, I’m not going to say I was thrilled). Then I read a bunch of negative comments, mostly on the subject of a bad remake, etc. After that, it made sense to look at the title from 1940.

I sincerely wanted to be pleasantly surprised, so that I can also put the classic (which I don’t normally watch) in front of the modern version with very dear actors to me. But that just didn’t happen. The dialogues are more subtle, and the costumes are more visually striking in the color version.

After all, how could ever be a better looking guy that dude in a black-and-white combination in comparison to Armie who walks around in an Oker suit. Also, the hostile attitude towards the new Mrs. De Winter has been played much more intensely by K.S.Thomas in the role of Mrs. Danvers.

With all due respect to fans of black-and-white movies and older cinema, these two titles are simply incomparable. Their only touchpoint is the script, since they were made by the same book.

After a visually less attractive older title, I looked again at the color version, this time with pleasure. Because now I’ve looked at it side by side, and the details in the scenes that I didn’t pay attention to at first look, now were much more noticeable.

L.James interprets the role of a lower-social girl whose charm could not be resisted by the wealthy Mr. De Winter (similar to ‘Cinderella’ in which we also had the chance to see her).

After a brief romance, he takes her to his lavish estate as a wife, where a romantic fairy tale slowly loses its intensity and moves into drama/mystery…

The aforementioned Rebecca is actually the late Mrs. De Winter whose ‘ghost’ is still present in the house. At the very mention of her name, there is sense of authority she had for her employees. Its chambers are still a ‘sacred place’ where nobody goes…

New Mrs. De Winter now has a difficult ‘task’ of taking her place that is not yet ‘vacated’, as well as uncovering the mystery behind Rebecca’s death.