Hitchcock

The odds were against it, let's face it. Then after that TV film about the obsession of Hitch for Tippi Hedren, what was it called? something like "The Girl" Brrrr. I thought, what a pity. But then, I went to see it and I was not merely thoroughly entertained but delighted. Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren make a formidable pair. Mirren, in spite of her glamour, I've never seen Alma Reville, as glamorous, Mirren truly captures the essence of the woman and makes that marriage not just feasible but ideal in so many ways. The script, smart and witty and gives a glimpse into what might have really happened. Janet Leigh (a terrific Scarlett Johansson)thanking Hitch and kissing him on the cheek. Look at Hitch/Hopkins's face when that happens. A child. I believed it. So, considering the odds against it, a triumph.

"That blonde woman of mystery you're after. She's a fantasy. She doesn't exist." Vera Miles (Jessica Biel) to Alfred Hitchcock

A chance that the representation of the eccentric Alfred Hitchcock would be just caricature is high, given his odd appearance, distinctive speech, and off-center personality. Fortunately Anthony Hopkins imitates him enough to be a believably historical character and to invest his own forceful personality.

Hitchcock is a satisfying glimpse into the genius's marriage to Alma (Helen Mirren) and the creation of his greatest screen triumph, Psycho. The unreality is Mirren's glamorous; Alma was plain.

Because of Hitchcock's mid-20th century appearances on his TV show, he may be more recognizable, even now, than Steven Spielberg. Anthony Hopkins and director Sacha Gervasi stay close to the facts as I know them, from his preoccupation with blonde leading ladies to his reliance on Alma's advice about actors, scripts, and edits.

The shenanigans surrounding the censorship of the shower scene in Psycho and the multiple cuts (so to speak!) that make it iconic are faithfully presented. Lessons can be learned about the power of the early censoring agency and the details like nudity and plunging a dagger into a woman that could keep a film out of the theaters. That week to complete the shower scene is an effective primer for those who don't understand the patience necessary to make a classic film.

New to my understanding of the director is his affection for Alma, almost tearful on our side and his, and the civil way he treated Janet Leigh. No need to show his callous treatment of The Birds' Tippi Hedrin, whose career he shortened when she refused his advances.

Let me close by saying a kind word about Helen Mirren as long-suffering Alma—Mirren plays her for an intelligent forgiving companion with her own emotional needs partially fulfilled by writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), who obviously loves her but gets no chance to make love to her.

As for the film itself, it's less a love letter to the director than a depiction of a gifted man who became the master of suspense not without his own measure of personal drama:

"And so, gentle viewer, Psycho—the picture everyone predicted would bring me to wreck and ruin—was such a hit that Alma and I got to . . . Well, let's just say that we got to keep our house—and the swimming pool. And the same critics who despised it went on to call it one of my greatest achievements. Of course, for me, it was just another "moo-vie.'" Hitchcock

Greetings again from the darkness. Here goes: John J McLaughlin wrote this "Hitchcock" screenplay based on Stephen Rebello's book "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho", which was based on the filming of the Psycho screenplay from Joseph Stefano, which was loosely based on Robert Bloch's book, which was based on the real life crimes of Ed Gein. Whew!

It's kind of interesting that Alfred Hitchcock is hot again. His Vertigo recently displaced Citizen Kane as the all-time greatest film. HBO is still running their recent production of "The Girl", which is based on Hitchcock's making of "The Birds" and his unhealthy connection to Tippi Hedren. And now, we get this Hollywood production, supposedly based on the master of suspense. I saw supposedly, because this film plays like it was written by the heirs of Alma Reville, Hitch's long time wife and collaborator. We all knew she worked on his films and contributed ideas, but the film wants you to believe she was the real genius behind the public genius.

The movie is entitled "Hitchcock" and is based on the making of "Psycho", but in fact, it's more the story of Alma and her husband. While there is nothing wrong with that story ... in fact, it is quite interesting and entertaining ... it's just kind of false advertising.

Helen Mirren portrays Alma, and instead of the mousy woman who usually faded into the background, we see a fairly strong and talented woman who goes toe-to-toe with Hitch in her best scene. Sir Anthony Hopkins dons some facial appliances and a fat suit and does a solid job of capturing the odd, creepy, leering, disturbed, insecure genius we recognize as Alfred Hitchcock. He comes across as louder and more in-motion than what we have previously seen. And while director Sacha Gervasi makes it clear that Hitch is not a "normal" guy, he doesn't dwell too much on the blond fixations.

The emphasis on the skills and importance of Alma would be fine were it not so exaggerated. Surely every great director and writer and artist has a muse and/or support system; and, there is no question Alma was a very talented lady, but her strength here bordered on distracting to the overall picture. Especially needless was the storyline of Alma being attracted to screenwriter Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), who wrote "Strangers on a Train" for Hitchcock.

The Hitchcock humor is allowed to shine through and his battles with Paramount Studio head Barney Balaban (Richard Portnow) and the censorship board (Kurtwood Smith) are excellent. Hopkins finds the humanity under the fat suit and is especially good in his work with Scarlett Johansson (as Janet Leigh) and Jessica Biel (as Vera Miles). I also got a kick out of James D'Arcy as the affected Anthony Perkins and all his quirky mannerisms.

Though this barely qualifies as a story on the making of Psycho, it was chilling to watch the addition of Bernard Herrmann's iconic score added to the shower scene. In fact, Danny Elfman does a nice job of subtly adding a Herrmann-type score to this film. I'm not sure if the film will play well with real Hitchcock aficionados, but if you can forgive the Alma slant, it's actually quite interesting and entertaining and kind of a sweet film at its core.

The REAL Hitchcock buffs will be disappointed, in that this movie does not delve deeply into the mind of this brilliant, creative filmmaker. It deals with the superficialities of his existence, and not the big issues of, for example, what propelled his interest in the Wisconsin serial murderer Ed Gein? Was this interest tied to his pursuit of his 'blonde girls?' The dark side of his personality was shown through his hallucinatory 'relationship' to Mr. Gein--who pops up occasionally--and could be considered a clever device; I thought it a cop-out.

As another reviewer on this board wrote, the most enjoyable parts of the movie revolved around the casting, writing, filming and editing of "Psycho." Jessica Biel and Scarlet Johanssen were adequate, if not inspired; Helen Mirren was the movie's anchor, while Anthony Hopkins seemed to be trying too hard, and I was always conscious of him 'acting.'

BUT, as noted earlier, it moves along and is enjoyable. Just don't expect too much.

"What if someone really good made a horror picture." After the success of North By Northwest Alfred Hitchcock (Hopkins) was looking for his next film to direct. After reading a book he finds what he is looking for. The studio is against it but Hitchcock decided to finance the movie himself, breaking all the rules as he goes. The story is real, the horror is real, this is the story of the making of Psycho. I'm not sure why but I am a big fan of movies about movies. I was very interested in seeing this not only for that but also because I am a big Anthony Hopkins fan and thought he would be a good choice for this role. The movie itself is really good with some pretty creepy aspects to it but the job that Hopkins does is pretty amazing and sometimes you actually see Hitchcock himself. I'm not sure how accurate this is but Hopkins played a man on the edge of sanity and knowing what I know about Hitchcock it seems to fit. If you are looking for a complete bio-pic of Hitchcock this is not it, but if you are a fan of his then this is a movie not to be missed. I recommend this. Overall, the movie is good but Hopkins is great. I give it a B+.