HITCHCOCK
“What if someone really good made a horror picture?”
It was with this query that Alfred Hitchcock shrugged off the prevailing opinions and pressures of late 1950s Hollywood and forever changed the course of cinema – horror cinema, in particular. That picture he was about to make was Psycho, a genuine classic and by far the most financially successful film in his impressive ledger.
Hitchcock, from director Sacha Gervasi (Anvil! The Story of Anvil), is less-groundbreaking. using the tumultuous process of making Psycho as backdrop to Hitch and his wife Alma’s unusual love story.
Anthony Hopkins dons the black suit and thin tie, as well as some prosthetics, to play the master of suspense. The turn sometimes strikes a perfect note, but too often the spell wears thin.
Helen Mirren, on the other hand, hits nary a false note as Hitchcock’s brilliant, long suffering wife Alma. It is with characteristic nuance and grace that Mirren gives life and layers to the impotent frustrations and longings of the underappreciated silent partner.
Gervasi’s greatest shortcoming is in devoting so much time to a side plot involving Alma and a sycophantic writer (Danny Huston) when he could have us all backstage on the set of Psycho.
There are loads of fascinating little nods and bits of trivia that brighten the effort, Gervasi can’t seem to do is find a proper tone, particularly when the film strikes a few fantastical moments as Hitch develops an imaginary friend.
Hitchcock is surprisingly bright, fun and funny, but Gervasi’s approach is sloppy and inelegant, two words that should never be associated with Alfred Hitchcock. 3 stars (out of 5)
CHASING ICE
Director Jeff Orlowski’s incredible account of accalimed photographer James Balog and his use of time-lapse cameras designed for one purpose: to capture a multi-year record of the world’s eroding glaciers. Fact based and hauntingly beautiful, it is truly a must see film that is bound to inspire discussion, and maybe even change a few minds. 4 stars