It’s one thing to remake a movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It’s another thing to remake his movie that won best picture. Rebecca is undoubtedly a Hitchcock classic. A film in his career that plays like a launching pad for his bigger works to come (Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, etc.) and Ben Wheatley is taking his risk of remaking this classic for himself. There’s much to discuss about a movie like this. The subject of remakes alone could be a long essay, but the ultimate question a film critic must ask themselves is was that remake necessary? Typically, the answer is no, and the answer is almost always no when the movie being remade was great the first time. The reason why this Rebecca remake works is because Wheatley is expanding the narrative, taking a film from 1940, and enhancing the story with the lavish scenery with the technology that cinema offers today. It helps to have an all-star cast, with Lily James in the role of the demure Mrs. de Winter, Armie Hammer as the wealthy and handsome Maxim de Winter, and Kristen Scott Thomas giving a shot at the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. It’s not reaching the level of excellence that Hitchcock made, but this version of Rebecca is a bright new interpretation for a new audience to discover today.
