Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock could possibly be the father of modern suspense.  With a career spanning 51 years, and near all the iconic Hollywood studios of today; the brand of Hitchcock covers cinema today and has been the influence for directors from Tim Burton to David Fincher.  With so much source material to pull from, the film Hitchcock pulls from the 1959-1960 production of Psycho, a transitional and tumultuous period for our director. Allow me to start with a bit of praise that will come as no surprise to anyone.  Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel and James D’Arcy all deliver amazing performances.  But each performance pales in comparison to Anthony Hopkins who doesn’t simply perform Hitchcock, he near-literally becomes him.  There were periods of time I found myself analyzing the mannerisms and sound of Hopkins on screen, trying to find the Hannibal Lecter, or Odin, or Colonel Ludlow in him.  That one bit of Hopkins I’d recognize from the hundred plus roles he’s played before, and it’s simply not there. I remember the show Alfred Hitchcock Presents, it almost feels like the series was the fake, and this film was the Hitchcock I remember, Hopkins is that complete in this role.

“Don’t upset yourself, darling, it’s only a bloody movie.”

The film starts as North by Northwest, one of Hitchcock’s most famous films, is completed.  Alfred is in desperate need of his next film and is haunted by artistic block, and the idea that he may be finished as a director.  He is arrested by the thoughts and imagery of serial killer Ed Gein, and a little known novel by Robert Bloch called Psycho. Certainly, in 1950’s America, a film about a crime spree as notorious and lurid as Gein’s would have been career suicide, even for someone as established as Hitchcock.  Alfred puts all on the line for his artistic vision, and so our film is set. This film is not only limited to the trials of censorship, and production of Psycho, however.  Hitchcock becomes much more personal, with the ideas of comfort, and jealousy in Alfred’s personal life, the relationship with the studio, and his cast and creative process in creating his masterpiece.

“Compared to Orson Welles, he’s a sweetheart.”

Set in the 1950s, Hitchcock has the bubblegum color palette and pop feel of a Wes Anderson film, but without the pervading comic emotion.  There is still the dark undercurrent and macabre one would expect, as Alfred prowls around classic Los Angeles.  In addition, the film is not drawn out, with a running time of just under 100 minutes, it is never a hard sit.  The varied emotions of the aging director maintain interest and dichotomy; the viewer is never sure what is going through his mind, and he surely isn’t telling. Hitchcock was released to American audiences on December 14^th 2012, and will be released to DVD and Blu-ray home media on Tuesday, March 12^th 2013.  A must-see for any Hitchcock fan, classic cinephile, or fan of retro horror / suspense, Hitchcock  was nominated for a dozen awards from multiple circles, as well as the winner of Best Scene and nomination for Best Actress from the St Louis film critics association, and nominated in the 85^th Academy Awards.