Hitchcock
2.5/4
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Danny Huston, Scarlett Johannson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith
Rated PG-13 for Violent Images, Sexual Content and Thematic Material
It is rather tragic that Alfred Hitchcock, the undisputed Master of Suspense and possessor of a famously morbid sense of humor, died 11 years before Anthony Hopkins played his most famous role, the wickedly evil Hannibal Lector in "The Silence of the Lambs." I have no doubt in my mind that Hitch would have been amused with the character, and probably would have loved to bring him to the screen had he the chance.
It is therefore fitting, I think, that Hopkins portray him on film. Alas, this is not the film that we have been looking for. "Hitchcock" is a decent film, but suffers from shallow writing, poor focus and unorganized direction.
Alfred Hitchcock (Hopkins) has just released his classic "North by Northwest," and is hungering for his next picture. A writer named Whitfield Cook (Huston) has a script that obviously needs pruning (it's almost as long as "War and Peace") and he want's Hitch's wife Alma's (Mirren) help on it (which annoys him to no end). Suddenly, he gets his hands on a book called "Psycho," inspired by the serial killer Ed Gein (Wincott). He loves it and wants to turn it into a movie. But he runs into so many roadblocks that he ends up financing the whole thing himself, and it may not be able to be shown in the US unless it gets past the censors (Smith). Hitch took a big chance making this film to his specifications, and it paid off. The new film "Psycho" became arguably his most famous and well-beloved film, and set the groundwork for a new genre.
The main problem with this film is that it's horribly focused. There's so much interesting stuff going on but much of it is undeveloped. Director Sacha Gervasi wants to tell everything, but within the constraints of a single movie, especially one that's just a hair over 90 minutes, that's impossible. What Gervasi ultimately decides to follow it the relationship between Hitch and Alma, which becomes strained during filming. But the story here isn't particularly interesting. It's not Hopkins or Mirren's fault; they're just saddled with a lame plotline and a script that doesn't match their talent.
Speaking of Hopkins, he's one of the film's problems. He's a brilliant actor, but he can't play everything, and there are times when he struggles with the character. We eventually come to accept him as Hitch, but it's a tougher sell than it should be. Mirren is much more believable as Alma, although this is a role that she could have done in her sleep. Danny Huston is flat as the hack writer who seeks to woo Alma away from her husband (this subplot is resolved in a cliche manner). Everyone else does their jobs, but they're wasted in a movie that concentrates on the least interesting aspect of the film.
Also curious is Gervasi's decision to have Hitch talk to Gein. Well, his spirit, anyway. It's an interesting thing to do (although like a lot of what's in the movie, it's been done before), but here it's a waste of time. It doesn't add anything to the proceedings and interrupts the movie's fragile flow.
I originally gave this movie a 3/4, but in the end I decided to lower it to a 2.5/4. There is some good stuff here, but it's either not as good as it should be or it's tossed away in favor of something less interesting.
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Danny Huston, Scarlett Johannson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith
Rated PG-13 for Violent Images, Sexual Content and Thematic Material
It is rather tragic that Alfred Hitchcock, the undisputed Master of Suspense and possessor of a famously morbid sense of humor, died 11 years before Anthony Hopkins played his most famous role, the wickedly evil Hannibal Lector in "The Silence of the Lambs." I have no doubt in my mind that Hitch would have been amused with the character, and probably would have loved to bring him to the screen had he the chance.
It is therefore fitting, I think, that Hopkins portray him on film. Alas, this is not the film that we have been looking for. "Hitchcock" is a decent film, but suffers from shallow writing, poor focus and unorganized direction.
Alfred Hitchcock (Hopkins) has just released his classic "North by Northwest," and is hungering for his next picture. A writer named Whitfield Cook (Huston) has a script that obviously needs pruning (it's almost as long as "War and Peace") and he want's Hitch's wife Alma's (Mirren) help on it (which annoys him to no end). Suddenly, he gets his hands on a book called "Psycho," inspired by the serial killer Ed Gein (Wincott). He loves it and wants to turn it into a movie. But he runs into so many roadblocks that he ends up financing the whole thing himself, and it may not be able to be shown in the US unless it gets past the censors (Smith). Hitch took a big chance making this film to his specifications, and it paid off. The new film "Psycho" became arguably his most famous and well-beloved film, and set the groundwork for a new genre.
The main problem with this film is that it's horribly focused. There's so much interesting stuff going on but much of it is undeveloped. Director Sacha Gervasi wants to tell everything, but within the constraints of a single movie, especially one that's just a hair over 90 minutes, that's impossible. What Gervasi ultimately decides to follow it the relationship between Hitch and Alma, which becomes strained during filming. But the story here isn't particularly interesting. It's not Hopkins or Mirren's fault; they're just saddled with a lame plotline and a script that doesn't match their talent.
Speaking of Hopkins, he's one of the film's problems. He's a brilliant actor, but he can't play everything, and there are times when he struggles with the character. We eventually come to accept him as Hitch, but it's a tougher sell than it should be. Mirren is much more believable as Alma, although this is a role that she could have done in her sleep. Danny Huston is flat as the hack writer who seeks to woo Alma away from her husband (this subplot is resolved in a cliche manner). Everyone else does their jobs, but they're wasted in a movie that concentrates on the least interesting aspect of the film.
Also curious is Gervasi's decision to have Hitch talk to Gein. Well, his spirit, anyway. It's an interesting thing to do (although like a lot of what's in the movie, it's been done before), but here it's a waste of time. It doesn't add anything to the proceedings and interrupts the movie's fragile flow.
I originally gave this movie a 3/4, but in the end I decided to lower it to a 2.5/4. There is some good stuff here, but it's either not as good as it should be or it's tossed away in favor of something less interesting.
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