Counter Culture

Hitchcock is essentially a  love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville set during the filming of Psycho in 1959. Viewed as a love story the film is entertaining and very watchable. Many Hitchcock fans were clearly expecting something different from this film and as a result have heaped criticism on it! They’ve termed it “slight and glossy” and criticised it for a lack of depth and insight.

That’s a shame as this is a good Movie which shows the important influence of Alma in the film-making process and shows how much of a gamble the making of Psycho was for the couple who mortgaged the house to self-finance the ground-breaking and controversial film.

I always like films that highlight how women influenced  the careers of their husbands. It’s easy to underestimate how, for so many years, creative, intelligent women were not given credit and status in their own rights. They were subsumed into the career and public image of their husbands. That was very unjust but at least now sometimes the historical and cultural record is set straight.

People say that Hitchcock is portrayed as weird and freaky but for me his realisation and acceptance of just how much Alma helped him and that he owed her was one of the key points in this film. That is really what made it a love story.

It is true that it is a light film, entertaining and not filled with insights into either Hitchcock or the way he made films. It’s enjoyable even if it isn’t for most Hitchcock fans. Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren give great performances as the central couple. The film is not perfect, but nonetheless is very engaging and doesn’t deserve all the flack it has received.

It’s amazing that this is only the second outing for Sacha Gervasi as a director. I was very impressed by his documentary  Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a documentary of the Canadian heavy metal band of the same name. Hitchcock confirmed my view that he is certainly one to watch out for in the future.

Hitchcock left me entertained, at times amused and wanting to know more about the larger-than-life, unconventional man behind the movies.

• Hitchcock
• Production year: 2012
• Countries: UK, USA
• Cert (UK): 12A
• Runtime: 98 mins
• Directors: Sacha Gervasi
• Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Hopkins, Danny Huston, Helen Mirren, James D’Arcy, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette