TV Review: Rebecca (1997)

Rebecca (1997) directed by Jim O'Brien

In this Masterpiece Theater adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's novel, a young woman (Emilia Fox) is vacationing in Monte Carlo with an older woman Mrs. Van Hopper (Faye Dunaway) when the two meet Maxim de Winter (Charles Dance). Max is a recently widowered British aristocrat who is a bit aloof and not at all interested in Van Hopper. He spends a lot of time with the young woman, eventually proposing to her. She agrees, they spend more time traveling Europe, then the couple returns to Max's home, a seaside estate called Manderley. The estate has an extensive staff headed by Mrs. Danvers (Diana Rigg), a cold and calculating housekeeper who is clearly still enamored with Rebecca, Max's first wife. Max also is not quite over his dead wife. Rebecca seems to haunt the house--a lot of her stuff is still there, the whole west wing is closed off (that's where she lived), and the servants are constantly mentioning Rebecca's habits and how wonderful she was. So the young Mrs. de Winter (she's half Max's age) has a hard time adapting to her new life and home.

The production is fairly lavish. The period costumes and the estate evoke the older times. The actors perform well. Max tries to be even-keeled but his temper often gets the better of him. The difficult relationships are compelling with the young Mrs. de Winter struggling to assert herself, fighting her own personality and the shadow of Rebecca. Rebecca herself appears in flashbacks but the viewer never sees her whole face, just close ups of her mouth or eyes, emphasizing the disruptive influence she has. The human drama is good, it's no wonder that the book has been remade several times. 

Recommended--it's not as gothic as the Alfred Hitchcock version but still does a good job.