Hitchcock

It's been a while since I've reviewed a mainstream film (trailer).... so here's as good a one as any.

When I was a kid, Alfred Hitchcock's, Psycho, would occasionally play on late night television. I tried to watch it many times. Each time, with each passing year, I could never get past the scene where Martin Balsam walks up the flight of stairs in Norman's house.  I would always turn off the TV before the scene ended. It wasn't until the ripe old age of 19 that I was able to sit through it in its entirety - in a room with other budding film buffs.

At a time when gore and violence where implied more than shown on screen, Alfred Hitchcock was the master.  That said his film, Psycho, pushed the boundaries of main stream cinema.

After finally being able to sit through Psycho, I devoured many other Hitchcock films.  The Birds was crazy bizarre. While all of his films had their beautiful and twisted charm, Vertigo and Rear Window were favourites, but the lesser known, Rope, was especially interesting.  Interesting because (from what I remember) the entire film was shot in 10 minute segments.  It didn't hurt that the film was shot in one apartment setting, but Hitchcock created tension and suspense that was truly remarkable. Indeed, the "master of suspense" moniker suited him.

So, here we have Hannibal Lechter as Alfred Hitchcock.  While I had trouble seeing any real resemblance between Anthony Hopkins portrayal of Hitchcock and Alfred himself, as the trailer progressed the actions of Hopkins sold me on the interpretation.

It was kind of like when I saw, Ray.  Jamie Foxx was so good that I'd forgotten what Ray Charles looked like until they showed his face at the end of the film.  I trust that will happen here.

From the trailer I was able to understand that Hitchcock is not so much a bio-pic of Alfred Hitchcock, but more on how the film, Psycho, was made - challenges and all.  I think that how it was made had more to do with the man that Hitchcock was than anything else.  I believe this to be the point of the film.  It's kind of fitting to depict a man in his element because this is where he thrived.

Throw in the lovely and talented Helen Mirren, the lovely and slightly less talented Scarlett Johansson and the just as talented as Helen Mirren, but not as lovely as Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette and you've got a great supporting female cast. Added bonus, really.

The trailer for Hitchcock brought back the admiration that I had for the great director who, by the way, always had a very brief cameo in almost all of his films.  I found myself smiling at the story, interested by the controversy of the film, Psycho, and ultimately, very eager to see this film.