Hitchcock

Grade: B-

My first thought upon hearing that there was a double bill of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock going on in Toronto last night was that it was a disastrous idea. Psycho is in the highest echelon of cinema's greatest and very few films can live up to its level of quality. Sight unseen, a biopic by a first time director at the helm doesn't promise to be one of those films. And having now seen Hitchcock, it is clear that it does not, indeed, come anywhere close to Psycho's cinematic mastery. But the organizers' decision to show the films back to back has to be commended. In retrospect, the double bill might be reason I enjoyed Hitchcock so much. It isn't a perfect film by any means - or even a great film, for that matter - but it works as a sort of unclenching of the fists and letting out a sigh of relief after two suspenseful hours spent in Bates Motel.

Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) is just coming off the successful release of North by Northwest when Gervasi's eponymous film opens, but he doesn't get to revel in the spotlight for long. As a reporter reminds him that he's in the twilight of his career despite his recent success, Hitchcock becomes determined to tackle a project that gets his creative juices flowing, something fresh and different. Countless number of projects are on offer but he rejects all of them in favour of adapting Psycho, a gory slasher book by Robert Bloch based on the true story of murders by Ed Gein. Initially, the idea sounds ludicrous to everyone around him but this reaction coupled with Paramount's decision to reject financing the film only urges him further to get the project off the ground. His ever supportive wife, Alma Reville (Helen Mirren), is right by his side as they decide to finance the film out of pocket and risk losing their home.

Favourite Shot from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

*This post is part of Nathaniel’s “Hit me with your best shot” series. I couldn’t participate last week because of school work, although the great shots that contributors chose from A Streetcar Named Desire are definitely worth a look.

Few directors have become so closely associated with a particular genre in film that the name of the genre itself immediately brings back to mind memories of their films – characters, shots, music, and dialogue. Alfred Hitchcock is certainly one of them. He’s done to thrillers what Woody Allen later did to romantic comedies. He made it his own.

Top: Close-up of the cop. Bottom: The same cop, lurking on the other side of the road

Hitchcock knows how to use every element of cinematography and mise-en-scene to his benefit in creating a creepy intensity for Psycho’s atmosphere. Take the policeman in the beginning of the film for instance. His introduction, with this powerful close-up, the dark glasses and his sombre tone couldn’t have been more intense. If this shot doesn’t make us suspicious enough, Hitchcock gives us another glimpse of him when Marion stops to change her car. Even though it’s obvious why the cop is observing Marion from afar, Hitchcock’s setting makes us as suspicious of him as he is of Marion.

Top: The bedroom door sliding open. Bottom: Arbogast shot from above as he walks up the stairs. Notice the door on the right.

Many of the film’s more elaborate shots are taken inside Norman Bates’s house. My favourite is probably the scene of the murder of Arbogast, the private detective who’s looking for the 40000 dollars. The camera shoots him from above as he walks up the stairs to get to the bedroom. We still don’t know who the murderer is at this point in the film and the camerawork hides the identity so masterfully, I couldn’t leave it unmentioned.

My favourite shot in the film however, comes a bit later. When Arbogast doesn’t return from the Bates motel, Lila, Marion’s sister convinces Sam, her boyfriend, to go on his own detective mission to find him. When he arrives at the motel, he calls for Arbogast but can’t find him. The camera cuts to Norman, alone in the dark of the woods, who looks in the direction of the voice, but doesn’t move. This is his last moment of solitude before Sam and Lila’s return to the motel and the eventual exposition. He listens hopelessly to Sam’s voice, as if he’s pondering his next move. The confused and scared look in his eyes and the smirk on his lips make for a perfect combination of menace and vulnerability, and heighten the suspense that ensues.

If you have never seen Psycho before, put it all the way up your list. It’s easily one of the best films ever made.