Review of Hitchcock (2012) by Stevenf — 24 Sep 2013

There are various names thrown into the mix when the notion of inspirational and pivotal players in the world of filmmaking, but none ring quite as frequently as Alfred a man quite like no other, much like his films, but here, we have a small insight into the man who was always watching.

Anthony Hopkins portrays the esteemed man behind such films as "North by Northwest" and "Psycho", the latter being the film for which this biopic is set around. But the film isn't so much a life story, but more a love story and relationship study between "Hitch" and his doting wife, Alma (Helen Mirren), a woman who has all the skills to last on her own, but follows her husband wherever he may go, she writes and helps him on his way to stardom, but he felt he had to change, he wasn't getting any younger and Hitch himself wanted to show his ability to be diverse.

Hopkins plays a man who seems to be aware of everything around him, he knew what needed to be done to give a film that unique edge, Hopkins excellently shows an outcast in someone with an unorthodox technique, but one which works.

But the film focuses too much on the marriage of Hitch and Alma, while intriguing and well fitted, not enough time is given to the making of Psycho, this would have certainly been more logical considering the controversial nature of the film and the amount of coverage it received upon its release.

This aside, the sublime performances of Hopkins and Mirren are enough to see this film, Hopkins commands the screen and works fluently with a darkly humoured script, while Mirren is an independent yet loving wife to a legend, but also struggles with her own identity and finds solace in the innocent company of Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) while Hitch continues to show admiration for leading ladies Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson) and Vera Miles (Jessica Biel), not major roles the film, nor do they look much like the originals, but great performances soon fix that.

The ensemble of fine performances are definitely worth applauding, with a strong script and unique direction to accompany this riveting film, it could have chose a better path, but still fires strong on all cylinders to outline an iconic man, or more so, an iconic couple who changed the landscape of what it means to scare people, looking for that perfect factor, she wrote it, he showed it.