Hitchcock Review

In a number of his films, Alfred Hitchcock hinted at the difficulty of marriage and its imprisoning and possibly ill-fated nature. In his early work The 39 Steps, the protagonists are handcuffed to one another and pretend to be husband and wife throughout their travails; a later work Rear Window  juxtaposes a number of relationships (albeit from afar) including the start and decline of a young couple's marriage as well as an older man murdering his wife. In Vertigo, a man kills off his wife and another man attempts to manipulate and transform another woman into his ideal. In Marnie, a man blackmails a compulsive thief into marrying him and then rapes her.

Marriage is naturally also the theme behind Sascha Gervasi's new film "Hitchcock," which attempts to portray the dynamics of Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville's marriage during the production of Psycho. The Master of Suspense endured a relatively sound marriage of 54 years with Reville, who worked on a number of his's projects as a supervisor, an editing partner, and writer. It was well known that she was the opinion that he sought most regarding his films.

In Hitchcock, the director is attempting to remake his image with Psycho,  but his obsession over the project forces him and Reville into a number of individual risks including mortgaging their home to self-finance the project. Hitchcock's egocentric attitudes force Alma away as she starts to seek out new avenues for artistic and individual fulfillment.Continue Reading