In my youth, I briefly embraced the practice of not only seeing movies, but also reading the books upon which they were based. So in a sense, I owe Daphne du Maurier for saving me a great deal of time. Starting (as we all did) with Hitchcock, I made it through her short story The Birds — easily the worst story ever to be transformed into a great movie. This was followed by about a hundred pages or so of the author’s Rebecca, my least-loved Hitchcock, before the experiment was put to rest and du Maurier was banished from my pantheon. Until now. Other than cinematographer Mike Eley’s polished frames, this gothic snoozer from Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Hyde Park on Hudson) is the dreariest du Maurier adaptation to date. I’m all for surprise endings, but not since the cheesy horror flick Happy Birthday to Me has one arrived from this far out of left field. With Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin. (2017) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.