By: Skip Sheffield
Close your eyes and you would think you were hearing Britain’s master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.
Acclaimed British stage and screen actor Anthony Hopkins assumes the Alfred Hitchcock persona in a film titled simply “Hitchcock.”
Hopkins must have put on weight and he certainly was padded to resemble the rotund writer-director. More important are his vocal inflections and facial mannerisms.
Hitchcock had a certain way of pursing his lips and drawing out his vowels, which Hopkins has down flat. But even more important than these physical manifestations is Hopkins’ recreation of the director’s intellectual insecurity and strong sexual peccadilloes.
“Hitchcock” is set in California during the 1959 filming of Hitchcock’s most famous film, “Psycho.” The screenplay, written by John J. McLaughlin, is based on the non-fiction book “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho” by Stephen Rebello.
While there is plenty of behind-the-scenes details on what a struggle it was for Hitchcock to produce “Psycho” (he had to mortgage his house, among other things), “Hitchcock” is more basically an unusual love story between Hitchcock and his loyal, long-suffering and modestly brilliant wife, Alma Reville.
Helen Mirren is a British actress who really delves into a role and becomes a character. Her complicated Alma is constantly fascinating; sexy one moment, insecure and morose the next, and scarcely able to contain her jealousy, anger and resentment in another.
Alma had plenty to be jealous of. Hitchcock had a penchant for falling in love with his leading ladies, and just as easily casting them off.
We meet two of them in this film: “Psycho” star Janet Leigh, played with overwhelming sexual allure by Scarlett Johansson, and Vera Miles (Jessica Biel), an actress who spurned Hitchcock’s advances and was relegated to the thankless role of Janet Leigh’s sister.
There are many small delights: Toni Collette as Hitchcock’s indispensable Gal Friday, James D’Arcy as prissy actor Anthony Perkins, Richard Portman as bellicose studio head Barney Balaban and Danny Huston as Alma’s writing partner, friend, and possibly more, Whitfield Cook.
It is easy to castigate Hitchcock for his faults and foibles. Under the direction of Sacha Gervasi this is a fond, admiring tribute to an indisputable genius and the remarkable woman who was the power behind the throne.
Three stars
Caption: feature film “Hitchcock”