Review of Dial M for Murder (1981) by Leah B — 25 Dec 2008

Another example of a great, practically flawless Hitchcock film that suffers from the fact that it's not absolutely extraordinary- it's just really, really good. By normal standards, I would be raving about 'Dial M for Murder', but because it's Hitchcock, I found it, if possible, a tad disappointing. Just because I know what he's capable of as a director (masterpieces such as 'Rear Window' and 'Psycho'), I couldn't help but feel that this film somewhat pales in comparison to his other works. Just like 'The Man Who Knew Too Much', it seems to be lesser Hitchcock. And I'd really say the only thing to blame on that would be lack of landscape- the whole thing almost completely takes place in Grace Kelly's living room. Hitchcock's done this before, of course; in 'Rope' the entire story plays out in one room, 'Rear Window' takes place in Jimmy Stewart's apartment...but this wasn't the same. Those films didn't require huge sets or landscapes because the characters were so engrossing and in certain cases, evil. The villain in this film wasn't horrible or malicious enough to make up for that, so the film felt, in comparison, a little flat to me.

Don't get me wrong- 'Dial M for Murder' is a great film and a good example of how Hitchcock makes a movie. In comparison to his other masterpieces though, it seems just a little lacking.