Gaslight

I recently rewatched Gaslight, the 1940s movie about manipulation and paranoia in a marriage. Ingrid Bergman plays a young newly married woman, very much in love with her husband. They return to her aunt's home, that she had not been in since her aunt was murdered about a decade ago. Soon it seems that she starts losing things, forgetting things, and moving things for no reason. Her husband keeps pointing this out to her and makes her increasingly insecure. He tells her she is ill and takes total control of her life, not letting her leave the house or see anyone except their shifty maid. It gets to the point where he husband has made her seriously doubt her own sanity.

Her husband, played by Charles Boyer, is so creepy and strange and unpleasant that it is a bit hard to take this psychological thriller seriously. His acting is just too hammy and over-the-top.

I couldn't help thinking what a good remake this would be. Set in the same time, but with contemporary filmic technique and more subtle acting. In addition, I think they would need to make the relationship between Ingrid Bergman and her husband much more passionate and play up the sexual attraction between them. This would explain the hold he has over her, and would add dimension to his total control of her.