Review of Family Plot (1976) by Tim L — 06 Apr 2012

Its difficult to criticize someone so iconic and important to film as Hitchcock. He directed his first film in the silent era (around 1922) and continued to drive and shape cinema through the next 50+ years of some of the most incredible films the likes of which have never been seen since. But it does feel kind of a shame that he ended with this rather subpar offering - the casting and acting doesn't work, the scenes are unrealistic and lacking in any real drama (the scene where the car's brakes don't work could've been very suspenseful but ends up being one of the worst I've seen in his films. The script is fairly good, but falls flat in its delivery. Even compared to his previous film before this, the rather brilliant Frenzy, this pales and falters.

So, if we are using this film as the bookend of an incredible career, then the master deserves all the praise and accolades he gets - a truly one off that will never be matched. But standing on its own merits, this is a disappointing edition to his canon of films.