Hitchcock
“There’s only one director on a Hitchcock picture.”
So says the great director’s wife, Alma (played beautifully here by Dame Helen Mirren), to an executive anxious about how the Master of Suspense’s latest feature, “Psycho,” is behind schedule. Of course, Sacha Gervasi’s film, based on a book about the making of that 1960 masterpiece, seems to argue that Alma herself acted as co-director with her husband. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Hitchcock’s life and career knows about Alma, and how they collaborated on his films, but “Hitchcock” is the first time someone has brought that mannered, sometimes tumultuous, relationship to the big screen. Whether it’s a definitive film of their relationship, I’m not so sure, but it’s an entertaining piece of moviemaking, especially for fans of Hitch’s work.
The film starts with Alfred Hitchcock (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, in his most entertaining role in years) feeling glum about his career prospects. Coming off of the success of “North by Northwest,” Hitch– now 60 –is unsure what to do next, although the story of Ed Gein, a Wisconsin farmer who turned to murder. It’s his story that became the basis for a book by Robert Bloch, which was then adapted into “Psycho.” (Gein’s story was also the inspiration for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” another landmark horror film.)
There’s not a whole lot else to say about the film. If you’re a movie geek, and especially, a fan of “Psycho” and Hitchcock, I think you’ll enjoy this slice of life about one of the greatest filmmakers (if not THE greatest) of all-time. The story is engaging, the performances (including Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh) are solid. I’m not sure how accurate the film is to real-life, but watching Hitch and Alma fight away from the set, and collaborate on-set, is a movie fan’s dream, especially considering the dryly funny, but emotionally invested performances by Hopkins and Mirren. Of course, if you’ve seen “Psycho” itself, you know how brilliantly Hitch succeeded, despite the personal and professional turmoil he experiences here.
