I'd give HITCHCOCK an "A" solely for proving that behind every great man is an even greater woman. One of the intriguing parts of the movie, directed by Sacha Gervasi, turns out to be that Mrs. Hitchcock saved Psycho from becoming a disaster for the prolific director.
The man that gave us movie classics such as Psycho, Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo and other memorable films turns out had a little help in becoming the master of suspense. In HITCHCOCK, the drama explores the relationship between the husband and wife team of Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville during the making of Psycho. The story centers around Hitchcock's unraveling during the making of the film as studio executives breathe down his neck coupled with his paranoia about his wife's extra curricular activities with an author.
HITCHCOCK picks up after the iconic director releases North by Northwest when his career is stalling. Hollywood studios are losing interest in future Hitchcock projects, now deemed a has-been. That leads him to defy the studio heads and pick his next film based on a book by Robert Bloch by the same name about a serial killer and his obsession with his mother. No studio wants to touch this one with a ten-foot pole, but he decides to finance himself, putting up his home as collateral. His long-time collaborator and wife Alma Reville supports her husband with some reservations, but she trusts his judgement. That is, until she's reminded of his obsession with his blonde leading ladies when he casts bombshell Janet Leigh, played convincingly by Scarlett Johansson, as the lead in Psycho. The obsession with his similarly-looking actresses comes as a surprise to this viewer, but in thinking back to his films -- you see the pattern.
Watching Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock was a bit freaky at first, in that you're seeing some semblance of the Academy Award-winning actor in Alfred HItchcock's body. The superb acting soon gave way to full suspension of belief, after you get over wondering if Sir Hopkins is wearing a prosthetic and a fat suit, or gained weight for the role of the plumply-looking auteur. (Hopkins donned a fat suit and prosthetics for the transformation.) Ironically both Hollywood figures share the same initials A.H.
Helen Mirren plays the long-suffering wife who often polished up Hitchcock's scripts, and aided behind the scenes. As usual, the Academy-Award winner is a delight on screen in a riveting performance that will have viewers sympathizing with her more than the troubled filmmaker.
Scarlett Johansson's turn as actress Janet Leigh was a nice surprise. While we're used to seeing her as a blonde sexpot or as a tough chick, she portrayed the married mother of two as sexy, yet innocent befitting the 60s. Jessica Biel, on the other hand, didn't have much to do in this flick as actress Vera Miles, which the film hints was one of Hitchcock's mistresses. It was tough to buy her in this role, as Biel's unconventional looks didn't quite fit this era in Hollywood. Watch a clip.
The story is pretty straight-forward and intriguing, that is until Hitchcock starts to interact with the real serial killer behind the true story of Psycho. Is he loosing his mind, or simply immersing himself in the dark subject? While it reinforces the idea of Hitchcock losing it, it took this viewer out of the picture. It didn't really feel necessary, but perhaps director Sacha Gervasi included it as a representation of how filmmakers leave and breath their characters to the point of insanity sometimes.
As a fan of Hitchcock's movies and his genius at creating suspense, it was a bit disappointing learning about the ugly side of the iconic director's problems at home. His poor wife knew of his indiscretions with his leading ladies, yet stayed by his side. But in those times, divorce wasn't always the solution.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, learning about Hitchcock's wife's involvement in her husband's films was refreshing. Fiction or not, the film hints that it was Mrs. Hitchcock who forced her husband to re-edit Psycho and brought in Bernard Hermann to score the music, which went on to become the most recognizable musical score until present day.
Going behind the scenes of one of the most memorable movies of all time was probably the best part of HITCHCOCK, in addition to the stellar performances by the cast.
HITCHCOCK is now playing in select theaters.
