Call me by my dead wife’s name: can Netflix persuade us we need another Rebecca?
You read the book, you know the drill. Will Armie Hammer and Lily James offer any surprises? You already know the answer
The world needs another Rebecca adaptation like it needs another pandemic. After all, Daphne du Maurier’s novel is an unshakeable classic. It has sold millions of copies in multiple languages since it was published in 1938, and it was in the last few years named as the UK’s favourite book of the past two centuries. What’s more, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 adaptation was such a roaring success that it won the best picture Oscar. Basically, we don’t need more Rebecca, because everybody already knows everything that happens in Rebecca.
But here we are. Netflix’s new adaptation of Rebecca is out next month, with Armie Hammer playing Maxim de Winter and Lily James playing his wife. The biggest sell, though, is that Ben Wheatley is directing. Given his track record, there’s a good chance that the entire mid-section of this Rebecca will consist of nothing but a terrifying non-linear psychedelic freakout. Here’s a quick run-through of the new Rebecca trailer.