Is the widow just mercenary in this visit, trying to get her late husband’s estate by wooing Philip? Or is she an independent woman who means well but is reluctant to yoke herself to a silly boy who can’t distinguish between sex and marriage? And regardless of which she is, is that dreaded tea she’s making poisonous? And when he’s ill, will she help Philip get well, or attempt to slowly kill him off? Unfortunately, he can’t determine whether Ambrose died of a brain tumor (making his suspicions delusions) or by his wife’s hand.

The story takes off from there, as Philip falls for the widow and acts completely besotted right away. On arriving in Italy to save his beloved cousin, Philip discovers him dead, with shady characters delivering the news.īack home in England, he vows revenge on the widow, just on time for her arrival for a visit. Then he receives strange letters indicating Ambrose is afraid of his wife and quite ill. He discovers his cousin has fallen in love with and married a woman while abroad in Italy. Here’s the plot: a sheltered young man, Philip, is taught to hate women by his cousin/foster father Ambrose. ***Mild spoilers–I won’t give away the end. I had flashbacks of Season 3 of Bloodline. The 2017 take is incomprehensible, just short of laughably bad. Who better to take on the mysterious, unreadable Rachel?) But within minutes, it was evident this director of slight rom-coms lacked the imagination to even equal the previous film’s quality. (She had added complexity to Definitely, Maybe for crying out loud.

I guess I hoped a director smart enough to cast Rachel Weisz in the key role would know to make such changes. I’d already discovered–despite my enjoyment of the 50s version–that the book wouldn’t translate well to film without a big overhaul.

My cousin rachel 1952 book