My Cousin Rachel

Poor orphan Philip (Sam Claflin) was taken in and raised by his rich cousin Ambrose. Ambrose is sent to Italy for the sun by his doctors and he marries his cousin Rachel Ashley (Rachel Weisz). Philip receives a hidden message begging for help but Ambrose is dead by the time he arrives. He suspects Rachel of foul play but soon falls head over heals for her. Despite his godfather Kendall (Iain Glen)'s protest, he gives the family estate over to her. Louise (Holliday Grainger) is Kendall's daughter.

Philip is an infuriating character. I would believe it if the story writes in a love potion from Rachel. He is a crazy concoction of reckless naivety, puppy love, and jealousy. He is a maddening character as the protagonist. It's well acted but they are not an appealing couple. It is beautifully filmed. It's a maddening tale of human fallibility.

I found this film frustrating as I expected a lot more. Had Hitchcock directed it, then in my opinion it would have been a great watch. The chemistry between the main leading actors was poor, and the script offered little, except to confuse the viewer. Unlike the classic Rebecca film, this was dull, slow, and complex, all because the longer it went on the less you cared.

Beautiful photography and quality actors are not enough to entertain , and in my opinion this film was such a disappointment. The director might have checked out other films on books by the author, and then no doubt made a far better job of this story.

Rachel, of course, comes out of the heart and mind of Daphne Du Maurier, the same author who gave us Rebecca and even if we never met her we discover she was a nasty piece of business, she also gave us Melanie Daniels in The Birds, the spoiled rich girl from San Francisco. Here, Rachel is more of an enigma and as played by Rachel Weisz, a dangerously, too good to be true lady of mystery. Rachel Weisz is absolutely captivating and perhaps that's why I was so aware of Sam Claflin's shortcomings as an an actor. I don't want to be unkind. He has presence and charm but I was painfully aware of the performance, specially when he has Rachel Weisz being totally present in the moment. Roger Michell allows the candles, the jewels and the locations to have their moments, beautifully. Recommend it for a stormy Sunday afternoon.

Good in every department but lacks spark to elevate it to the next level.

Rachel Weisz plays the subtleties of the titular character with perfection, however, the many twists and turns of the "Did she?!" "Maybe not!?" tension eventually tires and the resolution is made completely flat. This was rather disappointing. I give the film a 6 (fair) out of 10. {Gothic Romantic Mystery}