Hitchcock (2012), Sacha Gervasi
3.5/5
A descent biopic depicting the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma, focusing on their personal life set to the backdrop of making Psycho. Performances are good, the cinematography sadly average, with only the subtlest nods to Hitchcock's style. Overall, a good film, but would have liked more character depth and depiction of Hitchcock's film making process. There are some scenes where the camera does a slight push in to close up, a subtle homage to Hitchcock's classic camera moves. Apart from those few moments however, the cinematography is very contemporary. What was really great, was the foley (the sound design for ambient noise i.e. body movements, eating etc) which was particularly distinctive in creating the soundscape of the film. It aided the visuals to convey emotion and drama, rather than using unnecessary dialogue. For instance, this distinct sound design was used prominently to emphasise Alfred's food and eating habits, in conjunction with cross cutting to create emphasis and connections from one scene to the next. Thus creating parallels and allusions between difference contexts. This film has a great cast, that is sadly underutilized for instance Scarlett Johansson as Janet Lee is a minor character and not developed much at all. Instead these somewhat flat character's serve rather as pawns of power and possessiveness acting as mere expressions of the relationship between Alma (Helen Mirren) and Alfred (Anthony Hopkins), rather than as fully rounded characters themselves.
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