There's a lot of atmosphere in director Roger Michell's "My Cousin Rachel," with fog-shrouded marshes, flickering candles, muttering servants and a broken pearl necklace tumbling down a staircase in slow motion, which definitely sets the scene for a mystery. We learn in the opening sequence that an orphaned Philip was taken in as a child by his benevolent cousin Ambrose and brought up in luxury at the family estate, which he will eventually inherit. When Ambrose goes to Florence for his health, he falls in love with Rachel and marries her, but then, in a series of letters to Philip, refers to her as 'my torment' and begs Philip to rescue him. By the time Philip gets to Florence, Ambrose has died of a brain tumor and Rachel has disappeared. Believing his cousin was killed by Rachel, Philip vows vengeance. But when Rachel finally shows up at the estate, Philip quickly becomes infatuated, but he continues to wonder, Is Rachel innocent or guilty?
However, the dynamic between men and women is at the heart of "My Cousin Rachel" and the true source of its mystery. If we watch the movie only wondering whether Rachel is good or evil, we are limiting our perspective to Philip (Sam Clafin), the protagonist, and limiting our understanding of the story. What's actually going on is bigger. And Rachel Weisz's performance as Rachel is truly exceptional -- because her Rachel really isn't hiding anything although she is manipulative and calculating. And Clafin's Philip bounces from one extreme to another, trying to wrap his brain around something that's beyond his limited experience to comprehend. Because Michell forces us to stay within Philip's limited vantage point, we only see Rachel when he does, but we must understand that he is an unreliable narrator. "My Cousin Rachel" isn't so much a murder mystery, but a story of a woman desiring independence at a time when they are considered chattle.
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