This week the coven gathered (virtually, of course) to watch the new Netflix film based on Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel Rebecca. Needless to say, we have some thoughts.
TL;DR: #TeamDanvers, romanticized abuse, THAT MUSTARD SUIT. Spoilers await you below.
Ah, Rebecca de Winter – sailor, legendary party planner, snappy dresser and sexual adventurer. If not for her unfortunate attitudes towards the vulnerable (and horses) she’d be a feminist icon.
Rebecca is a gothic horror tale about a couple haunted by the ghost of wives' past. But watching this reimagining, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a (bad) love story.
Maxim, a recently widowed estate owner who for some reason spends the first portion of the film sporting a suit the colour of baby sh*t (isn’t this man supposed to be in mourning?), happens upon our nameless protagonist in the employ of a horrible American socialite. Alone, inexperienced, and naïve, she’s the perfect victim - sorry - we mean lover. He proceeds to propose in THE most romantic way possible (“I’m asking you to marry me, you little fool”) and whisk her away to his mansion in Cornwall. Once there, she is haunted by the tragic death and lingering presence of his first wife – the gorgeous, universally beloved Rebecca.
Enter Mrs Danvers, played by a stunningly spooky Kristin Scott Thomas. The housekeeper and Rebecca’s closest confidante, she is having none of Mrs de Winter 2.0. As our unnamed victim is left to the mercies of judgmental servants and Danny’s dripping disdain, Maxim spends most of his time sulking or yelling at her.
Then, the twist: it turns out that Maxim killed Rebecca (because he believed her to be pregnant by another man and his pride couldn’t take it). Sleepwalking through a veritable field of red flags, his new wife is relieved – he didn’t love Rebecca after all. Never mind that she’s married to a murderer (PRIORITIES, Mrs no-name!). Unfortunately, Maxim is exonerated (although “you have no proof!” is not the best response to someone accusing you of murder, in our opinion).
The film leaves our victim/heroine and Maxim (happily?) living abroad after Mrs D takes her revenge by burning down Manderley (BURN IT, DANNY). The message of this version of Rebecca is an odd one – that a man prone to fits of rage who murdered his previous wife and waved a gun at your head can become a devoted husband if you just love him /lie for him /cover up at least one homicide.
The film leaves us with the notion that some men are “worth walking through fire for” – if that’s true, Maxim de Winter is definitely not one of them.
HEX verdict: If you must watch this film, skip ahead to the scenes where Mrs Danvers struts across the screen like she just buried her third husband and got away with it. Then go read the book for the ending the author intended. If dear Rebecca was still with us, she’d be furious.