Being Rachel Weisz . . .
My Cousin Rachel (12A)
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen, Holliday Grainger
Director: Roger Michelle
The Plot: Philip (Claflin) is a young man who has been raised by his cousin Ambrose, the owner of a working estate to which Philip will become heir. Spending time in Italy due to ill-health, Ambrose sends Philip letters announcing he has met and married a wonderful woman called Rachel (Weisz). These letters soon turn dark, with claims that Rachel is making him ill, and when Ambrose dies Philip is furious, believing her responsible. When she arrives at the estate, however, he quickly finds himself falling in love with his new cousin - a love that may prove to be dangerous . . .
Review: Period dramas aren't everyone's cup of tea, that's a given. For many people those words instantly equate to carriage journeys, formal dancing and long, boring scenes of people in high society taking tea and failing to vocalise their feelings. I for one have seen Pride and Prejudice more times that I can count, due to how often my mum watches it when I'm visiting my parents. As a 35 year-old male geek I'm definitely not in the target audience for these types of films - 2016's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is more my thing, which I fucking loved - but when they are well-made I can appreciate them. I enjoyed 2015's Far from the Madding Crowd, for example, which was a wonderfully shot and acted romantic drama.
I'm please to report that My Cousin Rachel places itself firmly in the realm of enjoyable period films. Adapted from the 1951 novel by Daphne du Maurier, the film is driven largely by a fantastic performance from Weisz and a more sexualised tone of obsession and desire that differentiates it from a more typical romance tale. Don't expect Tipping the Velvet levels of bodice-ripping here though - a quick sex scene in a field and a single f-bomb keep the film at a 12A certificate - but there's a darker, seductive tone to proceedings that keeps things interesting. It's also a beautifully shot film, with both the sunny vistas of Italy and the windswept cliffs of Devon adding character to the film and firmly establishing its evocation of the time period.
Weisz puts in a terrific performance here as Rachel: the character flits between grief, modesty and joy, all with the believable hints that this could be a charade and a far more cunning personality is in play. It's completely believable that Philip could be instantly disarmed by this woman's charm and allure, not hindered by the fact that Weisz herself is an incredibly beautiful woman. Claflin (who you might remember sporting a trident in The Hunger Games series) offers a solid performance as the naive Philip, also believable as a man whose youth and inexperience leads him to obsession in his pursuit of Rachel's love. There are times where the absurdity of his character's actions makes it difficult to feel sympathy for him, particularly as the film moves towards its conclusion, but you can see the intention here as the director does his best to make the audience guess who the victim of the tale really is.
The film has its flaws, however. The plot weakens as it progresses, and despite its best intentions it becomes really quite easy to spot where it's going and to see through the attempts at deception. Despite the excellent visual depiction of the time period, the range of minor supporting characters are a who's who of stereotypes, from the yarrr-ing old butler to the impressionable socialite girls, and both Iain Glen and Holliday Grainger, as Philip's guardian Nick and his daughter Louise (a second love interest for Philip), are underused. I would've liked to have seen more of them. While the film remains largely faithful to the novel, I can envisage fans of the story being unimpressed with the minor alterations to the conclusion.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
While fans of period dramas will no doubt get more enjoyment out of this than others, this is still an entertaining drama with a strong performance from Rachel Weisz. Recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment