Rachel Weisz Sam Claflin Holliday
Grainger Iain
Glen
Pierfrancesco Favino
The film begins on an intriguing note, with the
character Philip (Claflin) asking questions of himself: “Did she?” “Didn’t she?” “Who’s to blame?” Then the setting moves to the country estate in Cornwall,
where Philip manages his guardian’s landed property. He supervises the help competently, and seems to be
beloved. But social skills are at
a minimum, as he was orphaned at a young age and now lives and works primarily
with men. He is close in a
male-male kind of way with his godfather Nick Randall (Glen), who frequently
brings his daughter, Philip’s cousin Louise (Grainger), along. It’s Randall’s hope that there will be
a match between Louise and Philip.
But there is little chemistry between the two; Louise is supportive of
Philip, giving him subtle hints, and attempts to playfully tease him, but he is
oblivious.
Intrigue sets in when Philip receives messages
from his guardian Ambrose [who has moved to Italy and married a woman named
Rachel (Weisz)] who thinks he is being poisoned…by Rachel]. Philip instantly flies to Italy, only
to find that Ambrose has died and Rachel has departed. The only person he meets is an oily
character named Rainaldi (Favino) who seems to be taking care of Ambrose’s
affairs.
Intrigue is heightened when Philip gets word
that Rachel—whom he has never met—is coming to visit. Clever storytelling reveals more of Philip’s personality in
his naïveté about women and his jumping to conclusions about Rachel, based on
little information. He’s ready to
read her the riot act…and then he meets her. She is beautiful, first of all, but kind, thoughtful, and
attentive as well. He is clearly
not equipped to see her in an objective light. He welcomes her and begs her to continue living on the
estate.
Up to this point, I was taken in by the film
(based on Daphne du Maurier’s novel, with a screenplay by Director Roger
Michell) with its suspense and sumptuous cinematography (Mike Eley). Unfortunately, at this point, the
characterization goes into the absurd, especially in regard to the character
Philip. Granted, infatuation with
a beautiful person can make both men and women seem fools at times, but the
ensuing turn of events stretches plausibility. The film tries to “explain” Philip’s obsession (orphan, lack
of experience with women) and leave the ending scenes ambiguous but still
plausible, but it didn’t carry me along.
One clue was that the screening audience laughed at scenes that were
supposed to be serious.
The set-up of this film was wonderful, it’s
just too bad it couldn’t follow through with clever intrigue and turns of
events. And we were in no way
prepared for the ending, not in the sense that it threw us for a loop, but that
it had a hint of a deux ex machina quality to it (i.e., we’ll just throw this
in to make you scratch your heads).
I haven’t had the privilege to read du Maurier’s novels, but I would
guess she managed to end her stories better than this one did.
On the other hand, Rachel Weisz is a supreme
actress who is able to convey beauty, sincerity, mysteriousness, and depth of
character in all her roles, and keeps us captivated. Sam Claflin (Me Before
You, Hunger Games) is well cast and shows his ability in portraying a
flawed character with the best of intentions. Holliday Grainger, Iain Glen, and Pierfrancesco Favino
provide fine supporting work.
A beautifully filmed, mostly engaging
story of an ill-fated character.
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