Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlberg, Jessica Biel, James D'Arcy
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Makeup)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars
The films of Alfred Hitchcock are amongst the finest ever committed to celluloid. Few directors (if any) have ever so seemlessly melded art with what is popular. Though some of his films weren't hits initially (most notably Vertigo, now considered his finest work), movies like North by Northwest, Notorious, and Rear Window are all mesmerizing examples of artistic boundaries being pushed, while also creating edge-of-your seat popcorn fare.In taking on this director, and the legacy of the film's focus, Psycho, Gervasi has stepped into shoes that he cannot possibly fill. No one can be expected to make a film as grand as Psycho-it's a Herculean task that even Hitchcock himself would have trouble fulfilling upon demand. Unfortunately, Gervasi is not only not up to the task, he seems intent on simplifying the life of a man who is beloved, but also was notably and famously imperfect.
The film tells the tale of Hitchcock's life via 1959-60. At this point in his career, the legend is most definitely solid: he's made Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Rope, Rear Window, and just come off the wildly successful North by Northwest. One of the film's opening scenes is a reporter asking Hitchcock why he doesn't hang up his hat and call it a day? For a genius like Hitchcock (Hopkins), he takes that not as a suggestion, but as a challenge.
Today it is difficult to understand just how ground-breaking and out-of-bounds a film like Psycho was. Implied nudity, murder, and especially killing off the top-billed star, Janet Leigh (Johansson), so soon into the film (you didn't need the spoiler alert there-it's in every Oscar clip show) as he did were all rather shocking and taboo. The story walks us through the many hoops that Hitchcock had to endure, all the while watching him face the many travails that come with trying to balance work and career and watching work win the war. His wife, Alma (Mirren) starts to see another man (Huston), not necessarily romantically, but clearly emotionally, and Hitchcock goes through some surface-level fascinations with his leading ladies, including Leigh and his former muse Vera Miles (Jessica Biel, and don't you secretly want to know what Miles, the only major character portrayed in the film who is still alive, thinks of this movie?).
Unfortunately for all of us, Gervasi spends more time on Hitch's crumbling, but clearly fairly foundationally solid marriage, and less on his infamous obsession with the women who starred in his pictures-the icy blondes that would become his mainstay (in addition to Leigh, there were of course Madeline Carroll, Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, and soon to come, Ms. Tippi Hedren), and his obsession. For all his many fine attributes, Hitch's obsession with his leading ladies is the stuff of Hollywood lore, and Gervasi's intent to not focus on this, by far the most interesting thing about his biography, and instead turn the film into a Lifetime movie with a happy ending and a lot of winking, is an enormous disappointment. When I learned that Helen Mirren (whom I adore, for the record), would be the lead, rather than supporting player in the film, I suspected a bit of a cover-up, and I have to admit that I was disappointed we wouldn't see the dark underbelly of one of the most iconic cinematic men of the twentieth century. That Hitchcock is worth making a biopic on-this Hitchcock might as well be any old guy, struggling through a late-life crisis and coming out a winner.
That's not to say that there aren't things to enjoy in the film. For cinema aficionados, there's all the fun "you can see which scene of Psycho this is going to hearken back to" moments, and you have to love all the subtle moments they throw into the film with cute, smirking teases, like the constant devotion Janet Leigh exhibits to her husband Tony, whom she would divorce two years later, or the not-so-subtle reminders that Tony Perkins was gay or the adorable ending (which I saw coming ten minutes in, but still), with an allusion to the forthcoming feature The Birds. Additionally, while I wasn't surprised by the scenery-chewing fun of Helen Mirren, both Johansson and Biel take their roles and run with what little they were given, though I suspect both actresses were secretly begging to make the movie that I mentioned above, considering Hitchcock's difficult relationship with both Leigh and Miles on-set.
Yet for all of these fun moments, there are a dozen missed opportunities. Not only is there the largely missed moment of Hitchcock's obsession with his leading ladies, there's also far too little of his famous pranks, and the whole Ed Gein as his muse thing could have been handled, far, far better. Also, and I know the title of this film is Hitchcock, but it would have been more interesting if we had focused not just on Hitch but on Miles, Leigh, and Perkins, and made this a more well-rounded version of Psycho (even the great Toni Collette's snarky sidekick, who is barely used and is clearly channelling Ruth Hussey, would have been fun to see at home). Additionally, and I'm glad that Hopkins is out there attempting to find material that stretches him, but this is a performance the man could do in his sleep, and occasionally it seems that he's taken a shot of novocaine, bringing all accent and no feeling to his scenes.
Julie Weiss's costumes may be the film's only real shot at getting an Oscar nomination (the Costume branch is one of the Academy's best at ignoring Best Picture frontrunners for its nominees if the Best Pictures don't also have a solid wardrobe department). You have to love the cheeky way, for example, we're introduced to Scarlett's Janet, not focusing on the blonde platinum hair or her famous lips, but instead on what Hitch probably noticed first about her, the view from the back. Weiss's work captures the time well, though aside from some smart choices for Johansson, I don't see a huge amount of inspiration on-display from a woman who has definitely been better.
All-in-all, a massively underwhelming film that had a lot of potential, but I shall give you the chance to speak-what did you think of Hitchcock? Do you think Psycho was the right choice for a biopic, or would you have, like me, preferred Vertigo? And for those of you who have seen both (I haven't)-who is the better Master of Suspense-Anthony Hopkins or Toby Jones?
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