The late Alfred Hitchcock is known for his brilliance in creating utterly outrageous masterpieces. Considered the best film of all time by the Decennial Sight and Sound Poll, Vertigo immortalized his name. The world-renowned director has been so influential that there have been several biopics that revolved around his brilliance. While The Girl, Marnie, and The Birds all fascinated fans, probably the most controversial was Hitchcock, a film that tells the story of how the famed director made the movie, Psycho.
The Girl, directed by Julian Jarrold, pushed all the right buttons and gave light to who Hitchcok was and how he dealt with attraction. But Hitchcock, directed by Sacha Gervasi, is arguably the best biopic on the director, all thanks to the ingenious performance of Anthony Hopkins. Toby Jones did a great job portraying Hitchcock's frustration and sophistication, but Hopkins knew his timing better. Also, critics consider Psycho to be Hitchcock's masterpiece, so focussing on this film was a wise move.
Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock is an in-depth and relevant story that reveals the movie industry for what it was and still is today. The biopic takes us to a time when Hitchcock was looking to go in a new direction after wrapping North by Northwest. On the recommendation of his assistant, Hitchcock grew interested in bringing to life Psycho, a novel by Robert Bloch. However, Paramount, his studio, refused to finance the movie. Hitchcock had no choice but to use his own money. He even mortgaged his house to make it a possibility. Ultimately, Psycho was a hit and earned him a fortune, but it received mixed reviews from critics on its release. Of course, it wasn't all bad. Forward-thinking critics like Andrew Sarris, labeled him the most daring avant-garde filmmaker of his time.
The Sarris review was considered controversial since praising a macabre movie at the time felt regressive. Especially to those who had so recently experienced the violence of war first-hand.
Today, the movie has long-since ceased to be seen as controversial. People see it now as a triumphant masterpiece. One of the most noteworthy things about the Hitchcock biopic was that it portrayed a legendary and established director on his path to rediscovering himself.
Psycho remains a disturbingly demanding movie that channels the thrill the murderer feels after ending his prey as well as the torment that follows it. It digs deep into the roots of why our society breeds murderers. It's a truthfully dark film that ends with nothing but the reality that even doctors are powerless in curing, and foreseeing this phenomenon.
These disturbing philosophical truths aren't the only things that make Hitchcock's story so compelling. Gervasi takes a giant leap forward by showing Hitchcock being visited by the
serial killer the book and film were based on: Ed Gein. The biopic suggests that the director doesn't only want to scare his viewers; he's sharing his world with us. Sasha Gervasi was blunt enough to indicate that the borderline morbidity seen in Hitchcock's masterpieces are simply reflections of his inner life.
The success of Psycho came because Hitchcock was able to translate his lived understanding into motion. The movie was so truthfully raw that it even received medical outcry upon its release. When those criticisms arose, it was clear that Hitchcock tapped into sensitive elements of the unconscious mind. Being able to tap into such dark features left Hitchcock both amused and terrified.
While Vertigo was such a mainstream hit that it is now seen as an embodiment of the grand studio era, Psycho was its dark counterpart. Still, the latter continues to win over new legions of fans with its evergreen plot that it seems will always feel relevant.