InCinemas SG

Opening Date

29 Jun 2017

Rating

NC16 Some Sexual Scenes

Runtime

106 mins

Language

English - subtitles to be advised

Genre

Drama

Director

Roger Michell

Cast

Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Holliday Grainger, Iain Glen, Pierfrancesco Favino

Synopsis

A dark romance, MY COUSIN RACHEL tells the story of a young Englishman who plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.

Reviews

By Jason Lin 28 Jun 2017

Fortunately for Weisz and memorable supporting cast impressions by the likes of Philip’s childhood friend Louise (Holliday Grainger) and his estate lawyer Kendall (Iain Glen), My Cousin Rachel would have otherwise been easily written off as a period mystery drama that overstayed its welcome.

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Many have said that blood is thicker than water, but often family ties are easily upheaved and disrupted by external dynamics. There is an argument of one being naïve and influenced by well-concealed deceit, but it often takes two hands to clap.

This is the case in My Cousin Rachel, the latest film adaptation by Roger Mitchell based on British writer Daphne du Maurier’s same-titled novel set in Cornwall. The kinship between two cousins Ambrose and Philip (Sam Claflin) is interrupted when Ambrose, who has left for Italy as he has taken ill, met and married Rachel (Rachel Weisz).

The period mystery-romance brings with it well-established mood and ambience to elevate its premise. The first quarter of the film establishes off-screen expectations of Rachel, one who is described and perceived as the root cause of Ambrose’s ill-fate. Philip was determined to confront Rachel and imagined all sorts of torment that he cannot wait to unleash upon her.

This was however unexpectedly changed, almost as if the film’s exposition never took place. Philip was so mesmerised and ended up becoming obsessed and infatuated with her. The ability to get into the good books of someone is admirable, but Rachel’s ability to passively manipulate someone is remarkable.

Call it the sin of lust where so many men fell prey to since the beginning of time. Many might blame it upon Rachel – a character who cannot be fully fathomed even by the time the credits roll. As mentioned at the beginning of this opinion, it takes two hands to clap.

Through the luscious cinematography by Mike Eley, viewers might understand why Philip fell into the prescribed abyss – much like how people do similar when they fall head over heels in love. Behind it all, it could be observed that the foundation of Philip’s relationship with Ambrose fumbles all too easily to reveal a certain weakness.

Kudos to Weisz’s magnetic performance as a vivacious personality who is deemed too liberal for her time. She effectively controls Philip by playing his sexual appetite for her to lead him on and superbly retracts into a conservative stance when needed. This bipolar attribute keeps the audience constantly guessing and fearing for Philip, especially when the screenplay establishes a potential scam at play when Rachel’s good friend Rinaldi (Pierfrancesco Favino) appears.

It also establishes how the film exploits its viewers by influencing their perspective. This is however disappointed by the erratic screenplay that dwells little within each scene, resulting in the much-hated bafflement at the end where the audience asks the same question as Philip: Did she, or did she not?

Fortunately for Weisz and memorable supporting cast impressions by the likes of Philip’s childhood friend Louise (Holliday Grainger) and his estate lawyer Kendall (Iain Glen), My Cousin Rachel would have otherwise been easily written off as a period mystery drama that overstayed its welcome.
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My Cousin Rachel