Seeing over the course of a particular director's filmography how their style came to be will always be so compelling to me and one of my favorite aspects of film criticism is being able to analyze those trends. Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca is a film that I believe can best be utilized to see how his impressive slate of features came to be so iconic, even if it might not be the greatest example of his style. This film definitely feels a lot more like someone trying their hardest to be Hitchcock but given that this was one of his earliest works, that is not necessarily a bad thing. There is plenty to love about this movie, including the wonderful performances and the score that elevates its tension to an incredible level, and it is quite plain to see why this is heralded as being one of his greatest works. It might not have entirely worked for me but this Best Picture winner has just the right amount of his clever direction and brilliant writing to make it a worthy watch for any fan of the suspense genre.
Mrs. de Winter (Jean Fontaine), the second wife of millionaire philanthrope Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), has recently moved into her new husband's estate and wants to begin a new life with him. When she meets the housemaid named Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), she is constantly reminded of her husband's first wife Rebecca's mysterious death, which leads to Mrs. de Winter eventually becoming entangled in a psychological nightmare. The script by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison, adapted from the classic novel by Daphne Du Maurier, is quite an interesting one and it proves itself undeniably solid. The story has every element that a Hitchcock-helmed film would, rife with twists and turns and an unshakable feeling of uncertainty that his films have become known for. The script did a fantastic job supplying the story to supplement this legendary auteur's direction but I just wish it was a bit more compelling. Perhaps I have just become so familiar with the "dead wife" trope and its related family themes that even something as original as this film does not entirely come off as appealing to me. Hitchcock's direction throughout this film is also just fine but I was not completely sold, unfortunately. Any audience member can easily see shimmers of his iconic and suspenseful style every now and then throughout the film and for that, I was still intrigued where this story was headed. While the writing itself did not necessarily impact me as much as I would have wanted, there is still a lot to love about it, including its fantastic themes of guilt and feeling like one is out of place. Mrs. de Winter not only has to struggle with her own insecurities about not being right for her husband but also having to deal with the looming housekeeper. There are some incredibly tense scenes built from these themes and the craftsmanship behind them helped to elevate them into gripping status. Although it's never explicitly displayed, there are also some fantastic, supernatural vibes that I got from this film, and that really helps to make it even eerier.
A character-driven thriller like this one would not be as effective if not for the performances from its cast and this entire set of people did a fantastic job. Like I previously mentioned, I was not completely sold on the script and did not find it particularly riveting but the portrayals of this grief-stricken "family" from Fontaine, Olivier, and Anderson were just wonderful. Fontaine is brilliant at playing the curious, new wife and her timid aura is great to help her get through some of the story's most difficult scenes. Olivier is great as Maxim but one of the best standouts was Anderson as the skin-crawling Mrs. Danvers. She was a perfect casting choice for this terrifying character and she embodied the jealousy and spite that the character held incredibly well. Just from the scene alone when Danvers is attempting to persuade Mrs. de Winter to jump out of the window, I was so uneasy that it was almost unbearable to watch. I actually wanted to jump out of the window myself just to avoid having to deal with Danvers anymore. While Rebecca is a much more restrained and location-limited film than many of Hitchcock's other works, his style still relatively shows and there was a wonderfully scary tone that radiated throughout. I might not think that his direction worked too memorably with the script, but I still adore how he is able to build suspense, even in just the one or two major locations that are presented throughout this film. The thrilling atmosphere that is created is also due in part to Franz Waxman's score and the gorgeous black and white cinematography from George Barnes. Waxman's delicious musical abilities shine like no other element of this movie and I love how well it paired with every scene. It was undoubtedly corny at times but for the early days of the genre, it worked beautifully. Barnes also shoots this movie like no one else and is able to capture every tense scene and minor detail without losing any bit of his fantastic, visual storytelling, and I am very grateful to see such prowess in such an early film like this one.
Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca is an excellent, little thriller that capitalizes on his soon-to-be iconic style in subtle ways. I adored the performances, score, and cinematography but I just simply don't think that the writing worked on me in its intended ways. This movie is not one that I would point people towards regarding what makes his direction remarkable but it is certainly one I could recommend to analyze the later impact of his previous works. Although I was mostly unimpressed by this, I can still say that Hitchcock is slowly becoming one of my favorite, classic directors.
My Rating: ★★★½
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