Rebecca (1940)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
Runtime: 130 minutes

Synopsis: A self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.

Verdict: With a new adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's acclaimed novel hitting Netflix soon, I found the perfect excuse to finally cross Alfred Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner film off my watchlist. Shot in black and white, the film also serves as the famous director's first American feature and stars names such as Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and Judith Anderson who, in my opinion, delivered a performance for the ages as the mysterious and tyrannical Mrs. Danvers.

I personally adore Hitchcock's work. He's a master at what he does and, even though his films are about three-quarters of a century old, most of them still hold up beautifully to this day. Not only does he excel at creating atmospheres englobed by thrill, tension, and unexpected twists, but he also fills them with fascinating characters that are far from being two-dimensional. They hold a psychological complexity that invites the audience to dissect them, giving his movies a rewatchability factor that almost guarantees a more rewarding experience despite knowing where the narrative will take us. "Rebecca" is no different. Despite being slightly thrown off by its pacing at times, most notably during the first hour, as well as its grand, orchestral score, I was nevertheless amazed by what Hitchcock managed to do with the main three characters' struggles. Being about a young woman who marries a newly widowed man only to find herself living in the shadow of his former wife, the film's themes of grief and fear of not living up to people's expectations reign in a story that took quite the unexpected but intriguing turn.

I do sense that "Rebecca" is yet another film by Hitchcock that is driven by its characters. The turn observed by the narrative completely changed the way they should be analyzed, making a second watch almost mandatory to fully grasp. I have a strong feeling that I'll enjoy the movie even more on my second viewing, and I'm very happy to have seen it before the Netflix adaptation (which, based on the trailer, looks very average) drops in October.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10