My cousin Rachel

1. My Cousin
RACHEL
International Trailer and poster analysis.
By Amy Keen

2. Background info
Pearl and dean:
• Release date: 9th June 2017
• Genre: Romance, Drama, Literary Adaptation
• Estimated box office: £2,500,000
• Director: Roger Michell
• Film cast: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin
• Certificate: 12A
• Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
• The Story: A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin,
believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he
finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms

3. SOUND
Non-diegetic soundtrack used is ‘Wicked Games’ by Ursine Valpine. This song is passionate and
strong which keeps the pace of the trailer slow despite the fast pace clips. The use of this kind of
music conveys that the genre of the trailer is a drama as the main focus is the passion of the song
and clips rather then just the action in the scenes. The soundtrack is orchestral and builds
throughout the trailer which in turn builds tension throughout. The words in the song seem to
relate greatly to the narrative.
The diegetic sound is kept in the clips at the beginning of the trailer. Small sounds are amplified in
order to create tension. For example Philip become very angry so throws furniture across the room
the crash of the furniture can be heard but no other sound effects in that scene can be heard.
Key dialog ‘She’s in England, she’s here’ ‘Rachel’ ‘How easy it must be for your cousin Rachel to twist
you around her little finger’ ‘ You know nothing about her’ ‘or is it you who know nothing’ ‘You’re
completely infatuated with her’ ‘You realise you could loose everything, everything’. All of this gives
away some of the narrative of the story but still keep the majority of the story hidden, leaving the
audience wanting more.

4. SETTING AND PROPS
• Time: 19th century
• Place: Small English town by the coast
The majority of the scene are shot in a very
large Victorian house with beautiful furniture
and gardens, this conveys that the characters
are very wealthy and are of an upper class.
Other settings include a church and external
environments. One very unusual thing about
the church scene is that the characters are
walking down the isle, as though it is a
wedding; However the female character is
wearing a black vail which suggests that it is
actually a funeral. This untypical scenario
coveys the abnormality of the two cousins
relationship. All of the other characters in the
scene are staring at them disapprovingly which
implies that their relationship is frowned upon.

5. LIGHTING
Before Rachel is in town the lighting is high key and natural which
convey that Rachel has brought darkness with her when she appears in
the town.
Most of the ominous scene are set in the dark. This is done to build
drama and mystery as we may not be able to see what happens next. In
addition, the candle lighting may be considered to be romantic so also
brings passion and tension to the scene.

6. COSTUME
Rachel wears a black dress with a vale
this portrays that she is a widow. This is
clearly important to the story as the only
time that she is not wearing black is
when she is in bed with Philip. The black
costume also suggests that she is evil
and impure, bringing darkness to the
people around her. When these two
characters are in bed with each other
Rachel is wearing white which makes her
appear innocent and may symbolise that
she is over her husband.
The over all costumes are Victorian
which has been done in order for the
time period to be accurate and realistic.

7. SHOTS
In this trailer there are more close ups then long shots. This is
done to build tension and make the audience connect more with
the characters. Close ups and mid shots allow us to see detail in
facial expression as the slightest move of a facial feature can
change the meaning of an expression.
In one scene, the two main character stand looking at each other,
neither character says anything but the scene is still intense and
has a lot of emotion. It is essential in scenes like this to use close
ups and mid-shots as facial expressions and body movement are
the only way the film makers can express the narrative to the
audience. In this screen shot Rachel is smiling but from her eyes
you can tell that she is upset as they are red a glossy
Another close up used is one of Rachel holding a cup of tea. Her
hand is trembling which indicates that she is anxious to see the
main character. This shot also shows her wedding ring which
shows that at this point In the story she is not over her husband.

8. Audience
According to pearl and deans My Cousin Rachel’s audience
compares best with the Danish girl.
31%
69%
AUDIENCE
FEMALES
MALES
AGE
7-11 0%
12-14 0%
15-24 22%
25-34 15%
35-44 12%
45+ 51%As you can see more females will watch
this film then males. The most age
ranges from 15-45+; however 45 is the
most popular age to watch this. This may
be because the 45+ are viewing the film
for the story whereas the younger 15-24
are watching the film because it starts
popular actor Sam Claflin

9. POSTER
Title of film In bold and in a bigger
font than other text in order for
the title to stand out.
Close up of main character
build an emotional connection
with the audience.
Popular actors name to entice
audience which may act as a
unique selling point.
Billing block including companies
involved In the making of the film.
This is in smaller text as is less
important to the audience.
Tag line/selling line, lets the
audience know what the film is
about and promotes the
narrative so the audience want
to watch it.
Pink font reflects romance
element of the film.
Eye contact is direct and hold the
audiences attention which
represents how the film is
entrancing.
Dark colours used to symbolise
the dark nature of the film.
Costume is Victorian which
conveys the audience that the
film is a period romance drama
set in the 19th century
Black vail shows the
narrative of the story as
Rachel is a widow.