A year after the untimely death of his wife, Maxim de Winter is holidaying in Monte Carlo where he meets a young woman in the employ of socialite Mrs. Van Hopper. Following a whirlwind romance they marry and he takes her home to his English mansion Manderley which is run by the imperious Mrs. Danvers. Whilst there our unnamed protagonist suffers under the weight of expectation created by Rebecca de Winter’s memory and Mrs. Danvers.

I thought I would do something slightly different for my blog with this piece. Up until this week I had never seen the Best Picture winning Alfred Hitchcock film despite it sitting on my DVD shelves in a Hitchcock box set that I have owned for years. Prompted by the release of Ben Wheatley’s adaptation landing on Netflix I decided to watch both films and review them. The two films similarity however meant that two separate reviews would not feel quite right so I thought I would look at them together.

Based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Daphne Du Maurier these films were made 80 years apart and both are incredibly faithful to the novel. With the 1940 film having to make a slight concession on plot due to the Hollywood Production Code.

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film starred Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter, Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers. It was nominated for 11 Oscars winning for Best Picture and Best Cinematography and is considered an all time classic.

Ben Wheatley’s 2020 film stars Lilly James as the second Mrs. de Winter, Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter and Kristen Scott Thomas as Mrs. Danvers.

As far as plot is concerned both films hew incredibly closely together with some lines lifted directly from the novel being the same. There is a 3 act structure that both adhere to. The first act is the whirlwind romance where we meet our young naive protagonist and see her whisked away by an older man still brooding over the death of his socialite wife. It seems this woman is able to reignite his spirit by being as far away from Rebecca as possible. The second act introduces us to the vast Manderley and the dominant personality of Mrs. Danvers who undermines Maxim’s second wife at every opportunity isolating and alienating her. I will not ruin the third act by summarising it but lets say that it ties up all that has gone before neatly and expertly.

My personal thoughts on the films is that neither truly manages to convey the two crucial plot points that would make me care about the characters. Namely the love between Max and the second Mrs. de Winter and the isolation and despair she feels at Manderley.

The 1940 film struggles more with the chemistry between the leads, partly thanks to the era it was made in. There are some very awkward antiquated behaviours towards women on display and little chemistry between Olivier and Fontaine. The 2020 film free of 1940’s morality is much better able to convey that chemistry although Maxim’s aloofness does dampen it some what.

The opposite is true when it comes to conveying the struggles at Manderlay. Hitchcock was the master of suspense and he expertly conveys this aspect of the film with Fontaine delivering some fantastic expressions and lines. Of course you have to acclimatise to the era’s overwrought and dramatic style but it still works. On the other hand Wheatley’s film held no sense of dread whatsoever. No amount of swirling camera shots of Lilly James stumbling through a party could help the fact that there was just none on display.

In terms of performances the films mostly share the spoils as well with the exception of the second Mrs. de Winter. Joan Fontaine is far more impressive than Lilly James in every aspect. A line I never thought I would write given how I have found James good in everything else I have seen her in. Fontaine delivers in every facet of her character though. Her naive beginnings, her descent into isolation and her steel in the final act. James just seems lost in the immensity of the role. As far as Maxim goes I really enjoyed both Hammer and Olivier’s performances. They may be generationally different in their attitudes to women but they both make incredibly good troubled, wealthy men. Where perhaps I may upset some is in my opinion of one of the greatest villains in literature, Mrs. Danvers. Where I actually felt that Kristen Scott Thomas may just have been slightly better but only because her Danvers gets far more screen time than Judith Anderson. They both excel in their key scene overlooking an open window.

As far as sets, costumes and locations go both films are sumptuous. Clearly this years film will always have the edge on a film made during war time as far as real locations are concerned. But the sets, costumes and photography for both are stunning.

So which is better? It has to be the 1940 original just for the sheer fact that there is a sense of dread and isolation which is the true driver of the story. Both have good and bad facets to them and ultimately I found neither truly drew me in to the gothic nightmare that Manderley and Mrs. Danvers represent. If you only have time for one make it the original.