A common practice in my English classes back in the day would be to read a novel, then watch its movie adaptation to analyze the differences and gain more insight about the story.

It’s been a while since I’ve taken an English class, but I suppose that is the beauty of adulthood: you can now be your own educational curator. No longer bound by the school system, we can simply choose to learn what we want, how we want.

I decided to walk down the road I hadn’t traveled, and to regain some sense of comforting nostalgia that would counteract my impending moments of existentialism, by reading a classic novel and then watching its film counterpart. I decided on Rebecca, written by Daphne du Maurier.

The Book

Rebecca was truly an enjoyable read. To be honest, I haven’t enjoyed a piece of literature like this in a long time. The writing was easy to digest and everything in the novel flows well. The suspense is cleverly maintained and you’re never stuck wondering: what is the point of all of this? It truly is a well written novel that is efficient but at the same time lengthy enough for sake of description and plot flow. You’ll definitely be in for a surprise!

Do not be fooled by this book’s claims on “romance.” It is a suspenseful thriller at heart, and a true child of the gothic fiction genre.

The Movie

The 2020 Netflix adaptation was…strange. This is perhaps one of the rare occurrences where I actually do agree with the poor reviews. On the surface, the costumes and settings seem immaculate. Lily James is gorgeous in the film, and maybe too much so. The main character is supposed to be slightly below average. Can you imagine being too pretty for a role?

There was also criticism on the non-existent age gap between Lily James and Armie Hammer, while in the book the characters are supposed to be nearly 20 years apart. This age gap is essential to the character development of the book, influencing much of their actions.

Of course, whenever a book is being adapted into a film, the director has a choice to make: what to keep, and what to cut. When done properly, an adaptation can be outstanding. Likewise, when the cuts are choppy and significantly affects the flow of the story, that is where complications arise. Such is where Rebecca (2020) fell short. Though the lack of age difference between the actors could be forgiven, lack of plot flow can seldom ever be ignored.

On the other hand, Hitchcock’s 1940 adaptation was a critical commercial success. Little has been said about Hitchcock here on the blog so far, but the motel is a big fan. With someone like Hitchcock spearheading the film, I’d be surprised if it didn’t receive critical acclaim.

Unfortunately, I have yet to watch it. It’ll be interesting to see how it compares to the 2020 adaptation, since I saw that one first. I guess we’ll see!

Bonus: The Song

I’d actually discovered the book Rebecca by listening to none other than Taylor Swift’s Evermore. The track titled Tolerate It is said to have been inspired by the book. I will say, it is truly a treat to listen to the song while reading the book. Book to song adaptations aren’t common at all, but Taylor Swift did it justice (and more). Perhaps the same cannot be said about Netflix.