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dial-m-for-movies · 6 years ago

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Rebecca [1940] - Film Appreciation

Rebecca [1940] - "A perfect edge of the seat psychological mystery drama, that amalgamates every single element in the screenplay, and ends up resolving the narrative in the most palatable way."

[Remorseful memories and perils of being a "new woman" in the house.]

Filmmaker - Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Well yeah! I am back to binge-hitching again, and this time with one of the most talked about films by Alfred Hitchcock. What I predicted as being a typical Hitchcockian thriller went on to rather slither into the realms of surrealism; and I passionately love the feel of it.

Plot - A girl from a poor/humble background marries an elite gentleman and what follows is a series of cryptic events, that have ability to leave you aghast.

The film starts with a symphony backed with a voice over, which is probably the first time I observed in a Hitchcock film; and I must mention that it wasn't sloppy at all. It has got a poetic effect and instills a sense of intrigue right from the word go. The V.O is something I would like to compare with Terrence Malik's 1998 war film, The Thin Red Line, which is also a great prose.

It all fades in with the shot of a country road that leads to a rather royal edifice cordoned by a gigantic door; a scene that took me back to the future and reminded me of Orson Welles's Citizen Kane's iconic opening sequence. It is a dream sequence and the tonal quality of V.O is excellent as it does make us feel something mysterious about what's going to happen.

Characters -

1. Maxim de Winter played by Laurence Olivier - An elite, placid and often intimidating man born in Manderline, conspicuously immersed in the memories of his past wife Rebecca and is going through a devastating delirium.

2. Mrs. de Winter played by Joan Fontaine -

Perpetually nervous, goofy and clumsy. Sensitive and can shed tears at the drop of hat. She is an orphan who has hardly received love in life and the life has been harsh with her. She has also been portrayed as someone who is vulnerable and gets intermittent nightmares. Her suspicion is palpable as she finds dubiety in the Maxim's monumental mansion.

3. Mrs. Van Hopper played by Florence Bates - A raucous, snobbish, dreadful and domineering lady; a character that is a hyperbole and disappears from the scene at the right time.

4. Mrs. Danvers played by Judith Anderson - Perhaps the most interesting character in the film. She is someone who shows hostility to Maxim's new wife and looks as scary and horrific as she can get.

5. Mr. Crawly played by Reginald Denny - Maxim's business manager who is supportive and well-wisher.

6. Mr. Giles played by Nigel Bruce - A comedic character who gives some moments of relief in a rather arcane narrative structure.

7. Mr. Favell played by George Sanders - Rebecca's cousin brother who is wily and avaricious and blackmails Maxim latterly.

8. Jasper played by a doggie - The dog is someone who plays the expository part in the screenplay and leads to some key incidents.

These actors are supported by other ones who play their part quite well. All the performances are good, but I loved Joan Fontaine, who has got into the skin of the character.

After the dream sequence, it fades to black to the south of France with visuals of turbulent waves hitting the rocks. Maxim is about to fall from a rock to commit suicide, but gets saved by the girl who would later go on to become his wife. And all I could think was what she was doing over there. Perhaps, Ritwik Ghatak's theory of coincidence in cinema is true. What can happen in cinema doesn't really have to be something real as far as a director is able to justify it.

Hitchcock takes a shot of beauteous city of Monte Carlo shrouded in the shadows of picturesque mountains, and he uses the shot twice in the film as a montage.

Throughout the film, Hitchcock has shunned those top view projection shots, except for twice, but has rather used moving camera shots with sporadic utilization of trolley.

There is a big take away from this film that has come to my notice. Each time he shots someone reading a newspaper, eating food or for that fact lifting an object from the table; it is the object that is focused first. Taking the shot from distance detriments the effect. To cite an example, when Mrs. de Winter tries to open Rebecca's diary, the camera focus on it, as it becomes the subject matter in that scene. Laterly, he zooms out and the diary is shown from the POV of the character. But what's better is Hitchcock starts moving the camera thereafter which makes the frame edgy. Perhaps, this is what David Mamet addresses as "uninflected shots" in his book, "On Directing Film."

Hitchcock does indulge in a bit of comedy in this rather tension-inducing tale when he shows Mr. & Mrs. de Winter forgetting their marriage certificate from the court. The mere impishness of the scene is backed with innocent stupidity, which does lighten up the mood.

Also, "What's in a paper anyway! ;)

Hitchcock directs his actors quite well in this one as Mrs. de Winter's discernible demeanour depicts lot of things about her character. The way she enters the premises of the mansion for the first time, and goofs it all up with her fidgety gestures and blunderous transgressions like dropping a valuable artifact does add to her character attributes and how she feels in the moment along with her perennial nervousness.

The Romance - This is probably the least romantic experience in Hitchcock's oeuvre, or let me put it as a "reluctant romance". The way Maxim meets the girl and falls for her rather compromisingly, thereafter coming up with an impromptu marriage proposal is a story that nobody can get sold to. It made me think - "Are replacements so easy?" However, this unlikely romance is terrifically justified because even after getting married and living in the same abode, we never see them getting into sensuality like we witness Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious or for that fact James Stewart and Grace Kelly in Rear Window. This has been done to show Maxim's internal conflict and how he is trying to get over Rebecca. The clumsy hugs, half hearted affectionate platitudes and rather cold display of chemistry does add the the fact. This questions the morality of relationship. Do you get into one before you are out of the memories of your past?

However, Hitchcock adds a scene wherein Maxim and his wife are watching their honeymoon stories on reel, which gets stuck. Perhaps he wanted to portray perils of filmmaking and how filmmakers struggled to get an unblemished print to screen a movie. In hindsight, it also initiates an intense and expository dialogue exchange between the characters.

The shots of Mrs. de Winters, when she is alone rambling in the house rather cluelessly and often sitting with anxiety and insecurity are lessons to take away on how to make a movie with fewer dialogues (understated) and still make an impact. Probably, Hitchcock's best display of talent in directing actors; something for which he is usually criticized.

People in the mansion - When the new Mrs. de Winters enters the house, nobody happily greets her and Mrs. Danvers, who happens to be the main assistant to Maxim shows horrific animosity to her. The funny character of Giles depicts similar attitude, but in a sarcastic way. However, she gets support from two other characters but it never helps her get accustomed to the surroundings, especially when she knows that there is a huge wall named Rebecca between her and Maxim. This kind of undercurrent in-house subtle conflict time-traveled me to future and reminded me of Ganga from Subhash Ghai's Pardes who was also alien to America's culture and the house.

There is this leitmotif which is used to create a spine-chilling effect during the conversations between Mrs. Danvers and Maxim's new wife. The character of Mrs. Danvers is played with utmost perfection. Judith Anderson has nailed the German Expressionism in this movie. Her ghastly screen presence and near demonic eye gestures backed with her queer talks in a rather devilish voice is the evident of the fact that the character is enacted with lot of sincerity.

Important things to observe -

I - Plot device - Rebecca's letters and her other things including wardrobe that never fail to bewilder an audience and Mrs. de Winter. In a way, they play a MacGuffin of a kind for her, which affects her later actions.

1. Mise-en-scenes - My last outing of Hitchcock was a bit disappointing because he had a tendency to move the camera when morr than two people are talking. However, in Rebecca, he creates some great mise-en-scenes, which is a +1.

2. Surrealism - We never know until the end about Rebecca's existence and what it actually means. The obscurity of Maxim's memories of Rebecca adds to the surrealistic flavor. The mansion seems to have so many secrets and Hitchcock has taken multiple shots of a locked room, which no one is supposed to enter. It somehow reminded me of Priya Darshan's Bhoolbhulaiya (or its original, Manichitrathazu). While Stanley Kubrick imbues surrealism with a rather clandestine architecture and queer interior of the Hotel Overlook in 'The Shinning', Hitchcock chooses to instill an element of mystery through internal conflict and psychological traits.

3. Asexuality - This film is thoroughly asexual in its archetype and more so, when the male protagonist shows restrained love towards his wife.

4. Motif - Rebecca's written letters and the tempestuous sea perpetually profused with wild stormy turbulence are motifs in the film.

5. High depth of field - Now this is I think happens to be an integral part of the film. While in North by Northwest, Rear Window and for that fact even Vertigo, Hitchcock did lower the depth of field of camera to show characters as a part of the surroundings, in Rebecca he uses deep focus and close-up shots followed by slow camera trolley being pulled away before the scene superimposes to another. Great transitions!

6. Masochism - The character of Maxim considers himself responsible for Rebecca's poignant death, because he had considered her infidel. This is followed by post-death self blaming and shows a rather masochistic state of his mind. This particular part is brilliantly played by Laurence Olivier and his ways of sublimating self-guilt by pouring his impulsive anger on his new wife and depicting a rather strange behavior is the evident of his perturbed conscience.

7. Use of grotesque - We have observed the use of grotesque in other Hitchcock films like "Shadow of a Doubt" and "Strangers on a Train", wherein a grotesque helps in resolving the screenplay. However, in this one, grotesque contributes to the enigma of the archetypal mystery thriller. This is take away on different ways to use grotesque.

Editing - V. Donn Hayes has done an impeccable job at the editing table. Not even a single screen transition is abrupt. He has juxtaposed the scenes in such a way that they create mood shifts which adds up to the mysterious dramatic premise. Moreover, he allows each emotional scene to make an impact before cutting it to other. Probably, editing is what takes the cake in this surrealistic thriller.

There is a mystery behind the body of Rebecca and Maxim says that it can be easily identified by any of us due to the rings and bracelets she used to wear. This made me remember Abrar Alvi's (read Guru Dutt's) Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Reema Kagti's Talaash - The Answer Lies Within.

The film also ends with a similar cinematic sequence that we would go on to witness in Citizen Cane. The manderline mansion catches fire and like how in the ramshackle Kane's Adobe, we witness the Rosewood burning; in this one, we see Rebecca's diaries and letters burning, which is a symbolic of the fact that Rebecca is now free and so is Maxim. Moreover, it also makes me think that one doesn't get over the past before the old bridges are burnt. And that's Rebecca's ultimate triumph.

Do not miss the voice over flashback in which Maxim narrates about Rebecca's death to his current wife; and of course Hitchcock's cuteness overloaded cameo which will again tickle your funny bone.

I shall keep "Dialing H for Hitchcock".

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