Review of Hitchcock (2012) by Alex A — 11 Aug 2013

The film mainly revolves around the drama associated with Alfred Hitchcock's production of "Psycho". The cast is nothing short of excellent. Anthony Hopkins plays Hitchcock and Helen Mirren plays his wife Alma. The are several film editing techniques present in the film. The director was obviously trying to give us as much as possible of what Hitch considered to be "pure cinema". There may have been a gross exaggeration in some of the parts of the film where Anthony Hopkins pretends to be counseled by Ed Gein(the man whom the book and movie Psycho is based on). Additionally, there are classed elements of Hitchcock humor. For example, in the opening scene at Ed Gein's farmhouse, Anthony Hopkins plays the dark humor manipulating role which most in cinema grew to love. He does this again when he is at a cocktail party trying to raise money for Psycho. "The finger sandwiches are real fingers." This is another example of classic Hitch. Furthermore, voyeurism is also another important theme in the film. We first see this depicted in the bathroom(when he's watching Alma), and then again in the peep hole when he is looking at Vera Miles.

The historical element is also a great plus. I thought that during the production that they would get this wrong. However, Hitch really did make "Psycho" with his own money, and it was considered a big gamble. All the added pressures of what Hitchcock was facing were embodied in this film . Because this film has captured what Hitch's personality was like and what it must have been like for the others around him, I would give this film a solid B or B+. In contrast, though I would give Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren both perfect scores for a flawless performance. The way that Anthony Hopkins delivers the portrayal of how he steps into Ed Gein's shoes is what I really like about this film! It is simply suspenseful, it puts you on the edge of your seat. It makes you ask questions like, "is this really a period piece?".