Movies

‘Hitchcock’ finely portrayed, a must see for film industry fans

There is something artistic and fragile, about “Hitchcock,” the biopic about famed director Alfred Hitchcock and his quest to bring the movie “Psycho” to silver screen.

It’s a movie with flashbacks and flash-sideways that will surprise those who haven’t seen Hitchcock’s eponymous 1950s and 1960s TV show; it’s something innovative that will earn approving nods.

Rather than dedicating itself to the movie, the film spends its brisk-paced minutes telling the story of how “Psycho” came to exist from Robert Bloch’s novel to the self-financed piece of Hitchcock brilliance.

The stunningly subtle 1960s era of Hollywood is used in a underhanded way to show a refined and chaotic way when movies were made with film and single-set lenses.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is showing how gentlemanly and well-mannered Hitchcock was — an artistic form lost on overgrown and barely talented imposters like Eli Roth who dominate the current era of horror films.

The unintentional nostalgia the film produces is something that only a first-hand experience can communicate or explain.

While the famed and rotund director is the centerpiece of the film, the story and surroundings of his often unsung and perhaps criminally unappreciated wife, Alma Reville, demand just as much attention.

Biography or not, the gently crafted film brings the plight of the wife to the forefront without being overbearing or preachy.

Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, Oscar winners, use this well-written vehicle to bolster their chances at gaining another batch of little bald golden men to put on their mantles.

In his own unique way, Hopkins effortlessly eases himself into the skin, voice and persona of the still mysterious director.

There’s a delightful and enchanting method about his role as the director.

On the other end, Helen Mirren is outlandishly talented as Reville, who is torn between her unquestioned loyalty to her husband and her desire to flex her own screenwriting and script doctoring muscles on the works of contemporary author Whitfield Cook, stylishly portrayed by Danny Huston.

Ostensibly a movie about the making of a movie that changed numerous culture landscapes, “Hitchcock” proves itself to be more.

Its earnest showings of obsessions of Alfred Hitchcok to real life serial killer Ed Gein’s inspiring acts that led to the writing of the novelization of “Psycho” and its unwavering dedication to the many oddly endearing flaws of the characters, “Hitchcock” is something a gorgeous, piece of Hollywood memoriam to a time when one or two people could shape a movie.

It is a must-watch for anyone with knowledge of the film industry and the arts.

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