Rebecca (1940)
Decided to start watching all of the Oscar best picture winners, in order. I hadn’t heard of some of these movies, some I love and have seen multiple times already and I actively hate others, planning to never watch them again. Fair warning, there will be spoilers in these and other reviews to help explain my point of view.
Rebecca, based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, tells the story of what can happen when a young and naive woman marries a wealthy widower she barely knows, moves into his mansion and discovers many secrets, as she attempts to fit into his world.
I didn’t know that this is the only film of Alfred Hitchcock’s to win Best Picture, but also was his first Hollywood movie. Hitchcock was definitely one of the greats, with such an enormous catalogue of absolute fantastic works, who I am sure every filmmaker studies. It is hard to believe no other Hitchcock film won this honor, and that he also never won Best Director.
Rebecca definitely feels like a Hitchcock film; melodrama seeping from every pore and spoken word, all atmosphere, brooding looks and undiscovered secrets. Right out of the gate, beginning with the voiceover, you’re drawn in, wanting to know what will happen next.
We meet the unnamed heroine, portrayed annoyingly by Joan Fontaine, as she is working as a paid traveling companion to a rather annoying woman, Mrs. Van Hopper. Fontaine’s character meets Laurence Olivier’s Maxim de Winter, as he is contemplating jumping from a cliff to his death. Maxim is rude to her, telling her to leave him alone, so of course she starts to like him and wants nothing more than to get to know him better. Throughout the remainder of the trip abroad, the two run into each other again and begin to develop a relationship. It is clear that Fontaine’s character is falling in love with this wealthy, worldly older man, but it is unclear why. Maxim is handsome and rich, but other than that I don’t see the appeal. He is closed off, quick to anger and doesn’t make his feelings known until Fontaine is about to leave and she chases him down, desperately trying to find him before she has to cut her travels short and return home. Luckily for her, she does find him and he just tells her out of nowhere that he wants to marry her, which of course thrills her to no end.
The heroine doesn’t get a name until her husband gives her his last name; even he only calls her Mrs. de Winter from that point forward. Initially, I thought this was just an indicator of the formality that existed during this period of history, but she still should have had a first name! Of course, considering this is a story about a young wife trying to make a place for herself in her new husband’s life, when he is still mourning his recently deceased and much beloved wife, Rebecca, identity is important. Who Mrs. de Winter is to herself and to those around her, is critical, especially due to her difficult relationship with the true woman of the house, Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper. Mrs. Danvers is in charge of everything; even when she seems to be accommodating and wanting to please the new Mrs. de Winter, she really only wants to continue things as they were, so much so that she has left Rebecca’s bedroom and office as it was the day she died, like a parent who has lost a child might do. This intimidates the new Mrs., as does everything else. She is constantly reduced to tears, cowers in a corner or is afraid to speak up, even when people are trying to be nice to her. The way Fontaine plays the character annoyed me. Based on what I’ve read, she appears to be portraying the character as written, as this movie faithfully adapts the book, which is frustrating because there is nothing endearing about her or her behavior. It makes sense that she would be intimidated by the wealth and grandeur of Maxim’s life and his home, but she doesn’t ask the staff for help, even though all of them are nice to her, including Mrs. Danvers (in the beginning). Honestly, until late in the movie, I wouldn’t have thought Mrs. Danvers had anything against Mrs. de Winter, if the movie synopsis hadn’t told me so. She was always polite, told her all about the house and how it runs and gave her the opportunity to weigh in on decisions. Only once Mrs. de Winter decides to throw a costume ball like those Rebecca used to host, did Mrs. Danvers true colors come to light. She “tricked” Mrs. into recreating a dress just like one featured in a portrait hanging in their home. Why Mrs. thought this was a good idea, I have no earthly idea. Even if Mrs. Danvers assertion that Rebecca hadn’t worn the dress or one like it had been true, why, when she was trying so desperately to carve out her own place and existence, would she choose to copy a dress worn by anyone else, rather than making something that was uniquely hers?!? Maxim loses his mind because of course Mrs. Danvers lied and Rebecca had worn the exact same dress right before her death. When confronted by Mrs., Mrs. Danvers doesn’t deny that she blatantly lied and that she did it to make Mrs. deWinter look like a fool because she doesn’t like her and thinks she is inferior to the mere memory of Rebecca and should just kill herself so things can go back to the way they were before she showed up. Mrs. de Winter seems quite close to actually jumping out of the window, until she is literally saved by the bell when an alarm sounds warning everyone that a ship has run aground due to the fog.
One might think this is because Mrs. Danvers secretly wanted Maxim for herself, but she doesn’t. She absolutely adored Rebecca and would resurrect her corpse if she could, but she can’t, so she does everything she can to keep her memory alive, which is why she changed nothing and has her monogram all over the house — and I am sure she is to blame for Maxim having Rebecca’s monogrammed handkerchiefs in his pocket, rather than his own.
Mrs. de Winter finds Maxim in the old boathouse. We’re led to believe he is going to kill her or otherwise cause her harm, but he finally chooses to tell her his big secret. Rebecca didn’t die in a boating accident; Maxim confesses that their marriage was a sham. Rebecca was a terrible person and only pretended to love Maxim. She was pregnant due to her ongoing affair with her cousin and taunted Maxim with this information, goading him into a fight that led to her falling, hitting her head and dying. Thinking no one would believe the truth, he put her body in the boat, making it look like she died accidentally. The reason for his confession is because Rebecca’s body is in the boat that ran aground. There will be an investigation and questions asked as to why Maxim previously identified a different body as Rebecca. Did he just make a mistake in his grief or did he lie to conceal a murder?
Mrs. de Winter encourages Maxim to tell the truth, that Rebecca died accidentally, but once the actual truth comes out, and it is revealed that Rebecca wasn’t pregnant, but had cancer, it is accepted that this would have led her to commit suicide, so Maxim is free to make a new life with his wife, without the burden of any more secrets.
Mrs. Danvers isn’t having it though; we think she has probably killed Mrs. de Winter, as Maxim gets close to home and sees the house is on fire, but luckily she is okay and they find each other. Mrs. Danvers is in the house and dies, as the ceiling of Rebecca’s bedroom falls in on her.
Rebecca is overwrought and therefore not one of my favorites. I understand the Oscar nomination, but not necessarily the win. The story is good, but I would have enjoyed it more if it were told a bit less dramatically. The constant tears, gasps and crisis at every turn was too much for me. I wanted to shake Mrs. de Winter (after insisting she use her first name) and tell her to speak up for herself and ask her husband to talk to her, rather than leaving her to her own devices. This type of storytelling is typical romance and woman are supposed to love it, but perhaps I am too jaded for it. I didn’t buy the romance between the two leads; Fontaine always seemed to be acting, rather than a true person and Olivier’s character was either angry or aloof; not exactly the romantic type. 2.5 out of 5 stars. Great filmmaking by Hitchcock, but not one I enjoyed.
