TV REVIEW : ‘MY COUSIN RACHEL’ TO DEBUT LOCALLY ON PBS

Did she or didn’t she? That’s the question posed, deliciously savored and never completely answered in “My Cousin Rachel,” a new four-part drama on public television’s “Mystery!” series.

The BBC adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel debuts tonight at 8 on Channel 50 and at 9 on Channel 15, and will continue in weekly, hourlong installments. KCET Channel 28 plans to catch up next Thursday by showing the first and second episodes back-to-back.

The opening program, although occasionally ponderous, is nevertheless crucial in establishing the drama’s narrator, a smoldering young man named Philip, whose sheltered, pampered existence and shallow personality may be key factors in the more intriguing events that follow.

The story unfolds in 19th-Century England on a huge Cornwall estate where the orphaned Philip (Christopher Guard) has been raised by a beloved older cousin, Ambrose.

Ambrose departs to spend the winter in Italy, where he quickly meets, falls in love with and marries a widowed contessa who is a distant cousin, Rachel (Geraldine Chaplin). Shortly thereafter he falls ill and dies, but not before sending alarming letters to Philip suggesting that his new wife might be responsible for his demise.

Philip subsequently inherits the estate and invites Rachel to visit him, intending to confront her with his accusations. When she arrives, however, she turns out to be a vision of beauty, charm and grace.

Philip is thoroughly bewitched and soon comes to accept the explanation that Ambrose had been mad when he wrote those letters. Then Philip becomes ill and history seems to be repeating itself. . . .

Written by Hugh Whitemore, directed by Brian Farnham and produced by Richard Beynon, “My Cousin Rachel” takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster ride as Philip’s suspicions repeatedly rise and fall with regard to whether Rachel killed Ambrose, and may now have it in for him too.

What is the truth? Viewers are left to decide for themselves. Like Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film “Blow-Up,” “My Cousin Rachel” raises fascinating questions about just what constitutes “truth.” Is what we know about the people in our lives true, or merely our subjective belief about what is true--and therefore open to interpretation?

Or, to paraphrase the old philosophical conundrum about whether a tree falling in the forest makes a noise if no one is there to hear it, can a crime have been committed if there is no proof of it?