Hitchcock (2012)

Hitchcock is a quasi biopic of one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. More specifically, it follows his love life with his wife Alma during the filming the infamous Psycho. Throughout the film we see that the pressures of being a successful filmmaker is getting to Hitch (Anthony Hopkins), putting strains on his relationship. Although tensions rise, Alma (Helen Mirren) remains loyal to her husband and reminds him that she was once his boss, and thus his success is in part, heavily due to her.

Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins as Alma and Hitch. Source: Cinematoria

Strangely enough, for a film that depicts the making of another film, we never see an entire scene of Psycho. The closest we get is when we see Hitch conducting to the music of the shower scene whilst hearing the reaction of the audience. The screeching violins timed perfectly with every hand gesture is quite enthralling. It was a strangely calming scene to watch, partly due to the fact that Hitch looked much too happy dancing about to a rather terrifying stabbing.

That scene was my favourite in the entire film. The rest of it was rather underwhelming. Not even the magical acting of Hopkins and Mirren could make up for the slow paced plot. It's hard to forget how dull and lulling the middle part of the film was. It was a struggle to pay attention, not a quality one looks for in a movie.

As great as the concept was, there just wasn't enough substance to bring it to fruition. The very sliver of life that Hitchcock had was provided solely by Hopkins and Mirren. Without these two fantastic actors, the film would have been far worse off. Which is a shame, because who wouldn't want to look into the mind of Alfred Hitchcock?

Rating: 6/10