Review: My Cousin Rachel (2017)


Young Sam Claflin believes the beautiful Rachel (Rachel Weisz) killed his beloved cousin/guardian, and is filled to the brim with passionate rage and hatred for her. Then he meets her. You know what that means. But the question remains, did Rachel commit murder or is she completely innocent?



I’ve never read the Daphne du Maurier novel, but I’m a big fan of the 1951 film version with Olivia de Havilland and a debuting Richard Burton, so I was intrigued to see what writer-director Roger Michell (“Notting Hill”, “Venus”, “Morning Glory”) and the new cast would do here. Sadly, this 2017 remake is lousy and dull. A well-cast-against-type Rachel Weisz’s coldness as Rachel and the torture Sam Claflin’s Phillip is put through are decently conveyed on occasion. His early hatred of Rachel in particular is well-conveyed early on. However, Phillip is also a bit of a jerk (and a naïve idiot), Claflin has none of Richard Burton’s smouldering fire and brooding after that initial period, choosing to spend most of the film sulking and stroppy like a teenager. There’s not much interest for me in that. Speaking of disinterest, the character of Louise is entirely without interest or charm in this version. The film overall is weirdly too slow yet too short as well. It’s very choppy right from the pre-credits sequence and especially the final 20 minutes. I didn’t even especially enjoy the look of the film which, as shot by Mike Eley (“Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang”) is a little too warm and sunny for what should be a brooding, dark, Gothic tale. Yes, there’s some gloom and doom night scenes here and there, but not nearly enough for my taste. The film lacks atmosphere sorely overall.



What on Earth happened here? A massive disappointment. Rachel Weisz is fine, and similarly cast against type as Olivia De Havilland was in the original. However, almost nothing else works here, and Weisz can’t perform miracles. Co-star Claflin is just OK.



Rating: C- 

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