In 1940, prominent director Alfred Hitchcock released his first American film, Rebecca. Starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier and Judith Anderson, the film has adapted the gothic romantic novel Daphne du Maurier into a black-and-white gothic feature film. Director Ben Wheatley and actors Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas now reveal their perspectives on the early Netflix Rebecca images.
James, the famous Cinderella and Bathrough Driver, succeeds Fontaine as Ms. De Winter, the new wife of widower Maxim de Winter (Hammer). A little naive, she settles into her new life in the circle of relatives of her love estate on the English coast, but discovers herself unable to escape the nearby shadow of Rebecca, Maxim’s first deceased wife who stays alive through the sinister estate. Ms. Danvers (Thomas).
“The concept of du Maurier smuggling a ghost story, a mystery and a betrayal of a love tale, like a Russian doll, was good,” said Wheatley, who in the past directed films such as High-Rise and Free Fire, told Empire about Rebecca. . “This gender jump thing is anything I’ve had in my own work, and the connection made sense.”
In a separate interview with the Daily Mail, James described Wheatley’s capture as “sometimes mind-blowing and psychedelic.”
Rebecca of Hitchcok won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1941 and the film also earned cinematographer George Barnes the most productive photography award. Several other nominations have been submitted, in addition to all the main actors and the filmmaker. As Rebecca’s character, the legacy of the original film plays a role in this new adaptation.
Wheatley’s Rebecca will air on Netflix on October 21.
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