The Master of Suspense get the biopic treatment courtesy of a heavy metal doc maker. Is it a recipe for disaster? Not if the cast is anything to go by.
Release date: February 8, 2013.
The cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Jessica Biel, James D’arcy.
The pitch: An intimate look at the infamous Alfred as he fights to make the film that scared audiences shitless.
The buzz: Everyone's been talking Hitchcock in 2012. The BFI’s 'The Genius of Hitchcock' season has been extensively celebrating his work as many of his early films return to the big screen. Director Sacha Gervasi, who impressed with his doc debut Anvil! The Story of Anvil back in 2008, is the man hoping to add to the legacy of the Master of Suspense. Does he have what it takes to make the step up to biographical drama?
Reasons this could be good: Hopkins as Hitchcock. Enough said.
Reasons this could be bad: Too much screentime dedicated to Hitch's relationship with his wife Alma (Helen Mirren) would be dire. Let's hope the film sticks to the genius of the man instead.
Soundtrack: Psycho mentioned? Screaming strings. Although Scarlett Johansson reenacts the shower scene, Danny Elfman (who recreated Bernard Herrmann’s original score in Gus Van Sant’s floundering Psycho remake) is the man tasked with showing the side to Hitchcock that didn't involve bloodied knives and cameras. The music is sure to be effective so long as the fantasy grandeur of Hitch's famous work is dialed down.
Best bit: 0:54-1:00 "Try the finger sandwiches...they’re real fingers" Hitchcock’s wry humour will fetch a smirk as he knocks down his detractors.
The verdict: This adaptation of Stephen Rebello's 'Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho' will thrill if the mind behind the magic can be shown in full fury. Audiences will soon see what the heavy metal documentary maker has learned from one of the greatest filmmakers in history, but take some advice from Alma and remember: 'it’s only a bloody movie'.
