“I was thinking, I wish there was some sort of invention that could preserve memories. I would cork them in a bottle and save them forever,” our protagonist stated.
“Sometimes the memories grow stale, horrible. Please, can you stop biting your nails?” Maxim continued.
It is within these moment-by-moment exchanges between characters, in this reviewer’s opinion, that a conversational, life-like manner is alive in RadioTheatre’s rendition of Alfred Hitchcock’s famed tale REBECCA.
In a whirlwind romance such as theirs, however, we must be prepared that on the backside of this 29-minute audio, trouble and heartbreak may ensue. When the couple is married and begins to reside at Maxim’s castle-like mansion, it then becomes evident his late wife is very much still the woman of the house, even in her absence.
“Mrs. de Winter. Mrs. de Winter. I soon learned that name was not mine. … Everywhere I turned there were the indelible imprints of Rebecca’s continuing hold on Mandelieu and on Maxim.”
When it is revealed through suspicious behavior and a guilt-driven confession that Rebecca de Winter’s death happened under dubious circumstances, the mansion of Mandelieu, and the newlywed’s relationship becomes rife with jealousy, betrayal, heartbreak, and the unforgiving paranoia of living in someone else's shoes.
Nominated for Picture This Post BEST OF 2020