A cousin’s secrets; a conman’s lies
B(12A)
(The Mother, Notting Hill, Enduring Love) offers an enticing blend of suspicion, suspense and infatuation in his adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1951 novel.
Orphan Philip (Sam Claflin) has been brought up by Ambrose, his beloved guardian and relative at his Cornish country estate, Penhale. But when Ambrose dies in Italy in mysterious circumstances, shortly after marrying distant cousin, Rachel (Rachel Weisz), Philip is convinced she is to blame. His desire for revenge is complicated when, from the moment he meets the enigmatic, beautiful Rachel, he finds himself bewitched by her.
This dark tale of obsessive love is thrillingly tense. Philip observes Rachel from afar, sneaking about candlelit rooms. She appears demure and nervous — her fingertips twitching and trembling around a china teacup. But before long, Rachel has breathed life and femininity into the neglected manor house and Philip has fallen in love.
Weisz gives an intoxicating performance as the ambiguous protagonist and despite a disappointing resolution, this finely crafted period drama twists and tests throughout. In a voice-over at the outset, Philip asks: “Did she or didn’t she?” Mitchell keeps us wondering, right until the very end.
R(15)
ICHARD GERE casts aside his trade-mark leading man good looks and charm and gives what may be one of the best performances of his career as Norman Oppenheimer, the title role in Israeli writer/director Joseph Cedar’s (Footnote, Beaufort) English language debut.
Norman is a New York Jewish hustler or fixer, who trudges around Manhattan, speaking through his iPhone headphones, constantly trying to “connect” people. He is a persistent, thick-skinned wheeler-dealer but to many, he is an irritant. He sets his sights on Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), a low level, suave and charismatic Israeli politician on a trip to New York. Three years pass and Eshel, unexpectedly, becomes the Israeli prime minister. “For once,” Norman says, “I bet on the right horse.”
Gere is utterly compelling as the complex and flawed Norman and Ashkenazi is plausibly vain as the highly credible Eshel.
Cedar’s strength lies in his sharp characterisation and there is a strong supporting cast including Steve Buscemi as Norman’s rabbi and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a lawyer. But Norman’s four-act structure is too long and the “fall” aspect of the narrative is irritatingly signposted.