Victorian mourning had very set rules about length of time and the use of color. The primary issue I had with Rachel’s costumes was the fact that she came out of mourning waaaay too soon and in totally the wrong way. Of course, since Rachel’s character is mysterious and dark, the fact that she’s wearing mourning allowed for some great, gothy veil usage: They were supposed to have been worn by his mother but we didn’t want it to be fussy.” ( My Cousin Rachel: the story behind Rachel Weisz’s hauntingly beautiful costumes) We had them made based on a painting we found from 1835.
Rachel also has a black evening gown with pretty sheer fabric at the neckline and lace at the sleeves, which she wears to a Christmas party. Plus, practicalities - this sucker would blow right off! No Victorian lady would wear anything other than a hat for riding. The main issue I had was that they put her in a black lace veil instead of a bonnet or hat WHILE RIDING. I didn’t love all the plot twists the filmmakers came up with for her character (there’s some very UN-Victorian hanky-panky), but Weisz plays them well. Uncle has left everything to Philip, but Rachel turns up at the family homestead in England … and things get complicated.Īs always, Rachel Weisz ( The Fountain, Agora) turns in a thoughtful, nuanced performance as title character Rachel. At first all goes swimmingly, then Uncle decides Rachel is trying to poison him and writes to Philip about it, then dies. He grows up adoring his guardian who, late in life and not too healthy, goes to Italy for “the cure.” There, Uncle meets and marries an Italo-Englishwoman named Rachel, and writes home to Philip about it. So the basic set up is that in mid-Victorian England (the film is set in 1840), Philip is taken in by his uncle as a young child. Hey, at least these ones are English … the French stories are worse! So, I’m reporting for duty, although let it be known that Tortured and/or Sad Victorians are not my bag.
I keep hoping that Trystan will get around to watching the 2017 My Cousin Rachel, the new adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier gothic novel first adapted in 1952 with Olivia de Havilland, since this is the kind of tortured Victorian story she likes, but no dice.
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