If you were asked to name five Alfred Hitchcock movies, your answers would likely include Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest, maybe Rope if you’re kinky. Those are among his most famous films — hell, they’re some of the most famous films of all-time — but none of them were nominated for Best Picture. In fact, only one Hitchcock-directed film ever won Best Picture: 1941’s Rebecca. Netflix hopes to hear that name again on April 25, 2021, during the 93rd Academy Awards.
Based on Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic novel of the same name, the new adaptation of Rebecca is directed by Ben Wheatley (Free Fire) and stars Lily James as a newly-married woman who finds herself living in the shadow of her husband’s (Armie Hammer) dead first wife. Kristin Scott Thomas, perfectly cast, also features as the dedicated housekeeper of Manderley mansion, Mrs. Danvers. If you haven’t seen Hitchcock’s Rebecca, I would suggest waiting until after the remake comes out, not only to avoid comparisons between Hammer and Laurence Olivier, but also because there are some surprises along the way.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
A young newlywed arrives at her husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death. A modern adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s gothic novel comes to Netflix: starring Armie Hammer, Lily James, and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Rebecca premieres on Netflix on October 21.
