Hitchcock
2012
***
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Jessica Biel, James D'Arcy, Michael Wincott
Fresh out of North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchock decides to adapt Robert Bloch's novel Psycho, but Paramount refuses to bankroll what they see as a vulgar slasher movie. Hitchcock and his wife/collaborator Alma Reville finance the picture themselves, which puts immense strain on a marriage already fraught with jealousy and suspicion. Sacha Gervasi's feature debut is based on Stephen Rebello's book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. This is a light biopic which provides disappointingly little insight into the great director's working methods. Hitch's obsession with his leading ladies has been well documented, but the script doesn't really delve into that either. During the course of the story, the Master of Suspense has recurring visions of Ed Gein, the killer who inspired Bloch's book, but that idea doesn't turn out to be fruitful. The central thesis of the piece is that Alma Reville played an important, uncredited role in her husband's celebrated directing career, and the two had a strong and loving relationship. If you want to see a story about that, this is an entertaining and well-acted film.
