Based on Stephen Rebello's book 'Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho', Hitchcock is a fascinating glimpse into the Master of Suspense's inner world, as both he and his dutiful wife and aide, Alma, battle censors, Paramount Studios and financial troubles when making the influential and controversial horror classic 'Psycho'.
In an Oscar nominated make-up transformation, Anthony Hopkins looks quite a lot like Alfred but much of the time, I do see and hear Hopkins rather than Hitch, though his characteristic mannerisms seem to be there. Helen Mirren plays Alma, the often exasperated but always dutiful wife who we find out, had far more influence on his films than we would dare believe. Scarlett Johansson plays Psycho's Janet Leigh and James D'Arcy is an uncanny double for Anthony Perkins.
It's quite an easy watch and a pleasant one and with enough juicy titbits for us film buffs to latch onto. It reminds us of how ridiculously the censors and Studios had a stranglehold, even with Hitchcock, who had just made an absolute smash with North by Northwest. That even Hitch had to mortgage his own home, in an effort to make Psycho and how it only ran in two cinemas, initially...
Don't expect a deep insight into Hitch's psyche, though this is covered a bit, often in a light-hearted way. So, in all, a lightly revealing slice of cinematic history, with quite a neat ending.
In an Oscar nominated make-up transformation, Anthony Hopkins looks quite a lot like Alfred but much of the time, I do see and hear Hopkins rather than Hitch, though his characteristic mannerisms seem to be there. Helen Mirren plays Alma, the often exasperated but always dutiful wife who we find out, had far more influence on his films than we would dare believe. Scarlett Johansson plays Psycho's Janet Leigh and James D'Arcy is an uncanny double for Anthony Perkins.
It's quite an easy watch and a pleasant one and with enough juicy titbits for us film buffs to latch onto. It reminds us of how ridiculously the censors and Studios had a stranglehold, even with Hitchcock, who had just made an absolute smash with North by Northwest. That even Hitch had to mortgage his own home, in an effort to make Psycho and how it only ran in two cinemas, initially...
Don't expect a deep insight into Hitch's psyche, though this is covered a bit, often in a light-hearted way. So, in all, a lightly revealing slice of cinematic history, with quite a neat ending.