My Cousin Rachel was one of the bigger disappointments for me as I do like the cast, mainly Rachel Weisz, but the story never really came together as it could’ve and the pacing was dreadfully slow.
My Cousin Rachel
(2017)
Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Mystery
Fox | PG13 – 106 min. – $34.99 | August 29, 2017
Date Published: 09/03/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Believing his mysterious, beautiful cousin Rachel (RACHEL WEISZ) murdered the man who raised him, Philip (SAM CLAFLIN), a young Englishman, wants nothing more than to confront her. But once they meet, and not heeding the warnings from those around him, Philip finds himself falling deeply in love with her, even if the evidence points to her being a murderer. Quick Hit Review: My Cousin Rachel was one of my more anticipated films of 2017, but with it being a limited release, never got the chance to see it in theaters. So with that in mind, I have to admit… this really should’ve been so much better. The problem with the film isn’t with the performances as I found both Weisz and Claflin to be mostly engaging, nor the production or costumes which were well done, but instead the pacing was incredibly slow with nothing all that compelling going on. Listen, I like slow burn movies, but this one was a bit too slow and by the bitter end, the payoff didn’t feel like it was all that worth it, even with a somewhat short running time. Directed by Roger Michell, who previously helmed Notting Hill, Changing Lanes and Morning Glory, didn’t seem to do a good job adapting what seems to be a popular novel. This is actually the third attempt of adapting Daphne Du Maurier’s book, the previous being 1952 (with Richard Burton who earned an Academy Award nomination and a 1983 TV mini-series. Having never seen either of these nor read the novel, I don’t know how this version of My Cousin Rachel stacks up, but despite the solid performances, I found it to be rather dull. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a slip cover. Inside is a DVD Copy and redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Audio Commentary – Director Roger Michell and Producer Kevin Loader Deleted Scenes (12:35; HD) – An amazing 17 scenes were either cut down or removed, unfortunately nothing all that great that would’ve improved the film very much. Promotional Featurettes (HD):
The above featurettes are really short and don’t provide that much insight into the production and, with the cast anyway, canned interview sound bites. VFX Progressions (2:50; HD) looks at just how much visual effects work was done. Scoring Sessions (6:35; HD) covers the somber score from composer Rael Jones. Last up is Gallery of still images and two Theatrical Trailers (4:11; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Fox releases My Cousin Rachel onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The video looks really good showcasing the luscious English countryside with bright colors from the greens of the fields to the blues in the flowers. Detail also looks sharp throughout and I didn’t notice any major issues like banding, aliasing or artifacts. |
AUDIO – 3.5/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 makes for a quite standard track. There’s not a whole lot of action to really show off the surrounds outside of the dramatic score while dialogue levels came through the center channel with good clarity, but I did have trouble discerning some parts. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, My Cousin Rachel was one of the bigger disappointments for me as I do like the cast, mainly Rachel Weisz, but the story never really came together as it could’ve and the pacing was dreadfully slow. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.