Hitchcock
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
- drama
The story
Following his great success with "North by Northwest," director Alfred Hitchcock makes a daring choice for his next project: an adaptation of Robert Bloch's novel "Psycho." When the studio refuses to back the picture, Hitchcock decides to pay for it himself in exchange for a percentage of the profits. His wife, Alma Reville, has serious reservations about the film but supports him nonetheless. Still, the production strains the couple's marriage.
What it’s like
Warm, theatrical period lighting: amber lamplight in cramped Hollywood studio offices, glossy 1959 interiors, and a palette of plush reds, tobacco browns and creamy whites. The camera stays fairly close and mobile through rooms full of people talking over one another, with the occasional stylized flourish that nods at Hitchcock's own tricks. The score is brisk and playful, with a mischievous string undercurrent. The vibe is witty, sly and quietly bitter, a backstage comedy-drama with a slow ache underneath. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a film-buff evening, or a rewatch when you want chatter and tension without dread. The rhythm is conversational and steady, building through meetings, dinners and arguments about what the picture should be. The emotional register is wry and ambiguous: a famous, domineering man and the devoted, sharp-minded wife who holds him together, both drifting toward each other and apart. Violence is largely implied, with brief, unsettling glimpses of the murder material and a few disturbing hints, but nothing graphic. Sexual content is suggestive, mostly talk and innuendo, and the cruelty is verbal and emotional. It is for people who enjoy films about the making of movies, sharp performances from Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, and a marriage examined with affection and unease.
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