You know, I just love movies about making movies. That’s one reason I thought the movie “Hitchcock” would be right up my alley. Another reason is that it’s about one of cinema’s greatest directors – Alfred Hitchcock. Yet another reason I was interested was because of the fantastic cast specifically Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock and Helen Mirren as his wife Alma Reville. These and several other yummy ingredients had me really hungry for this film and after seeing it I can say that it’s quite satisfying.
But enough with the gastronomical analogies. “Hitchcock” takes place during the filming of arguably the director’s most popular and groundbreaking film “Psycho”. The movie begins just after the release of Hitchcock’s wildly successful “North By Northwest”. He still owes Paramount Pictures another film but he’s struggling to find the right one. He also feels that the studios and press believe he is past his prime and he wants to pick a bold project that will prove otherwise. He finds himself attracted to a Robert Bloch novel titled “Psycho”. He convinces Alma and his agent Lew Wasserman (Michael Stuhlbarg) that it’s the right choice but he has a harder time with Paramount president Barney Balaban (Richard Portnow). They finally reach an agreement where Hitchcock agrees to fund the picture for 40% of the profits and a Paramount distribution.
It’s really fascinating to watch the behind-the-scenes process and how Hitchcock labored to make “Psycho”. But a bigger and even more enjoyable part of the movie focuses on Hitchcock’s relationship with his wife. Hopkins and Mirren are a joy to watch. The two veteran performers dissect this marriage with surgical precision, bringing out so many interesting aspects of it. There’s a clear love that they both share for one another, but there’s an equally clear strain on their marriage brought on by the financial stress of funding the movie and by Hitchcock’s own negligence, pride, and fear of failure.
Hitch is betrayed as a self-assured man on the outside but he clearly has uncertainties on the inside. He has a wandering eye for his leading ladies and has a tendency to overindulge in food and drink – something Alma stays on him about. Alma is a talented writer herself and her uncredited contributions to Hitchcock’s creative process prove vital. Her growing frustrations lead her to begin her own collaboration with fellow writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), something Hitchcock disapproves of. All of these pressures begin to wear on Hitch and ends up threatening the completion of “Psycho”.
As I alluded to, one of the real strengths of this picture are the performances. Mirren rightfully earns her award nominations that she has received. Hopkins does a fine job fleshing out this complex director under a coat of heavy prosthetics. He nails all the mannerisms and postures and his speech is almost perfect. But there’s one thing I struggled with. I never could quite get past that I was watching him do Alfred Hitchcock. Take Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in “Lincoln”. I was so drawn in by his work that I forgot I was watching an actor play Abraham Lincoln. I never quite got to that point here. Don’t misunderstand me, it’s not a bad performance by any means. But I never completely bought into the idea that I was watching Hitchcock on screen.
I also have to mention the other supporting performances that I really enjoyed. I’ve liked Michael Stuhlbarg since seeing him in the Coen brothers film “A Serious Man”. He’s good here too. I was also impressed with Jessica Biel as Vera Miles. She’s an actress I normally don’t care for but she gives a nice subtle performance that works really well. But an even bigger surprise for me was Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh. I’ve never been completely sold on Johansson as an actress but I love the Janet Leigh she portrays. She’s beautiful and sexy but she’s almost a stabilizing influence on Hitch. She’s a lot of fun to watch in the role.
“Hitchcock” has a hard time escaping that biopic feel but it’s still a really good film. I think my love for the director’s movies and my particular affection for “Psycho” added a sense of nostalgia to my viewing, but there’s a lot more to this picture than just that. There are many clever little inclusions that go hand-in-hand with Hitchcock. For instance look closely and you’ll find his shadowy silhouette that fans of his will instantly recognize. Then there’s the cool opening and closing of the film that hearkens back the “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” days. These nifty treats fit in well with the solid script and wonderful performances and anyone with the slightest interest should come away well pleased.
Keith & the Movies 
Excellent review man, I look forward to seeing this film.
I appreciate it Vinnie. It’s a good one. There’s a lot of cool things going on that a Hitchcock fan like me really enjoyed. It’s a hoot!
It’s fun and sweet little movie, but given the fact that this is Hitchcock and this is all about him and his gal, the material should be more emotional. Good review Keith.
I don’t know bro. I wasn’t looking for a lot of emotion. I think it had about the right amount. In fact I think his lack of emotion was one of the things that caused the distance between him and his wife.
I just liked the of behind the scenes
studio wrangling and the general process of bringing Psycho to life and how that effected his health and home life. It was only a small period in the directors life and I liked how they never went outside those bounds.
The performances were definitely very good here. And I really liked the part of the film revolving around the highly controversial making of Psycho. But on the whole, the end product wasn’t all that great for me. It’s still a decent film, but I wanted to be a huge fan, and I wasnt 😦
I really liked that it stayed within a tight time frame and even though it never quite escapes the biopic feel, I really appreciated its focus. Plus Helen Mirren is just a delight!
I too love movies about making movies! That alone made this one worthwhile though I wasn’t wowed by it overall. To me, Mirren is the real scene-stealer here and I have the same issue w/ Hopkins as not being too convincing under all that makeup.
What I really liked about Hopkins were his mannerisms but mostly his voice. He really got the tone and style of speaking that Hitch had. But he never completely lost me in the character. That said, I was thoroughly entertained.
Still waiting to see this one!
arrgghh.
great review, Keith. High praise for Scarlett means you’re an alright guy in my book! 😉
LOL. Scarlett was really good in this one. You definitely need to check it out, especially if you like movies about making movies.
Keith I think I may have enjoyed this a bit more than you did. That can probably be attributed to watching that terrible HBO hatchet job on Hitch The Girl a few week prior. That film was terrible.
I’ve never seen that one but I will take your word for it! I’ll happily avoid it!
I had heard Hitch was a bit of leech with his leading ladies but I don’t see how anyone would put up with what they claimed was going on in The Girl.
Did it cover one particular leading lady or was it basically his treatment of them all?
It was all about that actress from The Birds, Tippi Hedren
Ahhh ok.
Nice review Keith. This opens this week over here so I’m looking forward to checking it out. It doesn’t seem to have quite lived up to people’s expectations, though, so I’ll lowering mine slightly I think.
Lots of people just weren’t really taken with it. Personally I thought it was a good little movie that focused on one particular time in Hitch’s life and stayed within those boundaries. Obviously that limits some of the things you normally get in a biopic but I appreciated its strict focus.
Sweet. I was going to see last week and didn’t. Hitchock is a King in my book (Notorious!) and I know I would like it….
It hasn’t received as high a rating from some but I found it to be a lot of fun, especially as a fan of Hitchcock. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Nice review, Keith. I liked this one a bit less than you did but I quite enjoyed it. Agree on Hopkins’s work. Mirren was the best thing about this film for me.
Mirren is awesome. She’s good in everything she’s in!
LOL, that’s true. But I particularly liked her work here.
Reblogged this on Creativity, Cats & Moving Pictures and commented:
I will review this movie myself sometime, but for now here’s Keith’s review