Hitchcock Review

Anyone that is a real friend of mine knows how much I fucking LOVE Alfred Hitchcock. In this one case, I have no issue admitting it: I love Cock (I realize no one calls him that, I just think it's funny.) But yea, Hitch is my favorite director of all time. Rear Window and Strangers on a Train are two of my favorite films ever. So, you can imagine how excited I was when I heard they were making a biopic about the making of one of his most popular films, Psycho. 

I was really excited to see exactly how Anthony Hopkins would fit in the role of Alfred Hitchcock. I've always loved Hopkins, especially in films like Silence of the Lambs and Fracture, so I thought he would be up to the challenge. I wouldn't say I was wrong, per se, but I definitely thought he would have done better than he did. I blame a fair amount of it on the shoddy script, but I think some parts of Hopkins' performance bordered a little too much on the absurd. But I did love the opening and closing scenes where he perfectly captured the character and almost tricked me into thinking Hitch had risen from the grave.

Playing directly opposite Hopkins was Dame Helen Mirren, as Alma. Mirren, as always, delivered an excellent performance. Every scene she was in she absolutely outshined anyone else. She made every scene with Hopkins seem that much better, even when he wasn't exactly doing it for me. She especially made all of the scenes with Scarlett Johansson bearable (it's really hard to look past her terrible acting in this one.)  Needless to say, Mirren's performance was the best part of this film.

The direction for this film was nothing special, but also not terrible. I was really hoping that they would feature a lot more homages to Hitchcock film by using some of his signature zooms and fades and such, but I found that part lacking. I was really disappointed that they didn't take advantage of the opportunity to make this, not only a biopic, but an homage as well. It really would have added to the feel of the film and make it that much more enjoyable, especially to fans of his work.

The worst part of this film was the script. I realize this was based off of a book, but I really didn't need all of the Ed Gein scenes. I understand that Ed Gein was the inspiration for the character of Norman Bates, but I don't need to see Hitch talking to an imaginary Ed Gein. It worked in maybe one or two scenes, but in most it just seemed forced and bland. By the end of the film I was sick of it. I really wish the script had limited the amount of Gein that was involved, and instead had focused on exactly how they made Psycho and the difficulties they experienced throughout production. Hell, I could even have done with more Mirren and Huston story!

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I liked this movie, if only for the quality acting from Mirren and Hopkins (most of the time), and a surprisingly great performance from James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins. He really nailed that character, it was almost eerie. I would say it is worth seeing once, especially if you are a Hitchcock fan. Otherwise, it isn't a must see (no matter how much I wanted it to be.)

Writing: 4/10

Directing: 5/10

Acting: 7.5/10

Pacing: 5 /10

Rewatchability: 4.5/10

Score: 5.2/10