Hitchcock (12A)
Time Out rating:
Time Out says
Tue Feb 5
He was the world’s most famous film director, yet Alfred Hitchcock gambled his reputation on a horror pic deemed so toxic by Hollywood that he had to bankroll it himself. ‘Psycho’ was the epoch-changing result, and this fact-based drama zooms in on its making, examining Hitchcock the artist and man when the pressure was on. On the making-of details, it’s breezily entertaining (notwithstanding the absence of any real ‘Psycho’ footage) as Anthony Hopkins’s Master of Suspense battles to preserve his vision. However, when Sacha Gervasi’s follow-up to his splendid music doc ‘Anvil’ ponders just what this shocking tale of voyeurism says about Hitchcock’s own psyche, it has less to say.
Fantasy sequences where Hitch confers with notorious serial killer Ed Gein – inspiration for the original novel – prove little more than a cheeky gimmick, and while this portrait goes easier on Hitchcock’s sexual manipulation of his leading ladies than the BBC’s recent ‘The Girl’, the insights are as familiar as they are superficial. That’s partly due to an overloaded story, which skimps on Scarlett Johansson’s perky, businesslike Janet Leigh, majoring instead on speculative asides tracking Hitch’s spouse and creative confidante Alma Reville (Helen Mirren, regally spiky) as she dares to work and flirt with another writer.
Still, Mirren and Hopkins excel in each other’s company, neediness and jealousy glinting in their sly, affectionate banter of married routine. Also, the dialogue is almost zippy enough to convince us they’re in a better movie than the scatty, intriguing but slightly undercooked one we’re actually watching.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Release details
Rated:
12A
UK release:
Fri Feb 8
Duration:
98 mins
The Camberley Theatre
Knoll Road, Camberley, GU15 3SY Show map/details
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Address:
The Camberley Theatre Knoll Road
Camberley
GU15 3SY
- Phone:
01276 707600
- Website:
-
Map
-
The Camberley Theatre
- Knoll Road
Camberley
GU15 3SY - 01276 707600
- www.camberleytheatre.biz
- 51.338528, -0.743457
- Knoll Road
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The Camberley Theatre
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Tue May 28:
- 14:30
- 20:00
Angel Centre
Angel Lane, Tonbridge, TN9 1SF Show map/details
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Address:
Angel Centre Angel Lane
Tonbridge
TN9 1SF
- Phone:
01732 359966
- Website:
-
Map
-
Angel Centre
- Angel Lane
Tonbridge
TN9 1SF - 01732 359966
- www.angelcentre.co.uk
- 51.192915, 0.275541
- Angel Lane
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Angel Centre
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Wed May 29:
- 20:15
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Thu May 30:
- 17:00
The Alban Arena
Civic Centre, St Albans, AL1 3LD Show map/details
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Address:
The Alban Arena Civic Centre, St Albans
AL1 3LD
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Map
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The Alban Arena
- Civic Centre, St Albans
AL1 3LD - 51.752941, -0.336349
- Civic Centre, St Albans
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The Alban Arena
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Wed Jun 5:
- 13:30
- 19:30
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Thu Jun 6:
- 19:30








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