Rebecca

Having read the book, I was very excited to watch this movie! I absolutely loved the book and couldn't set it down! But as any avid Harry Potter fan knows, the movie never meets the reader's expectations...
The film starred Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter. It was directed by the highly acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock, who with this film won his first and only Oscar as best Director.
Rebecca is a story about a woman who lingers on past her demise and affects those close to her. Maxim has supposedly been married to an angel. She was known very widely as the perfect wife, the perfect host, and the perfect friend. Once she passed on everyone saw Maxim fall apart, assuming it due to her loss. When Maxim meets the future Mrs. de Winter, he sees his second chance at happiness and immediately takes hold of it. With not a lot of time gone by, the two have a hasty marriage and an impromptu honeymoon, then head straight back to Manderly, Maxim's revered mansion. Mrs. de Winter realizes things aren't as lovely as she thought when she meets the stoic Ms. Danvers, an avid fan of the deceased Rebecca who is bordering lesbianism. Maxim acts strangely when at Manderly and their relationship begins to crumble, until they find Rebecca's boat sunk at the bottom of a lake. Then Maxim pours out every lie to Mrs. de Winter giving them a closer bond, but leading to another court case, in which his life is endangered if he doesn't win. The movie is topped off with a raging fire, set by the insane Ms. Danvers, and a passionate kiss of renewed love.
Had I not read the book, I think I would have really enjoyed the movie. Judith Anderson (as Ms. Danvers) did a fantastic job of portraying her character! She was exactly as I envisioned her in the book except for the fact that she seemed to have a gross and addictive attraction to Rebecca. I could not stand Joan Fontaine, though. She was too whiney and unrelatable. In the book, the reader can really understand her and feels compassionate toward her, but in the film she gets rather annoying and a bit too naive. Olivier played the part perfectly except that the contrast between him before he spills to Mrs. de Winter and after was not as apparent. I don't think he portrayed Maxim as angry as he should have been. Because I read the book I give Rebecca a B-.