Psycho

"...We all go a little mad, sometimes." --Norman Bates

A murder story so sadistically woven, one can practically smell the Alfred Hitchcock on it. Starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, this thriller is made and set in the wild sixties, a time of change, uncertainty. When better to test the cinematic waters with a horror film? I personally enjoyed the films look into the mind of a disturebed man, and explained how a person may seem twisted, but maybe it's only because we lack the ability to see the way they do. Is sanity established by it's society? The story begins with a young couple in the throws of passion, discussing the metaphorical traps they each are in. from their they go back to work, and then the real plot begins. When tempted by a large sum of cash brought to her workplace, she nabs it and drives off. This enticing intro alone catches the viewers attention. The movie scores a 4.5/5 in my scale. Please understand, this doesn't mean "Perfect, Best Movie Ever!" It simply means that criteria for a good movie was met. It's an -A, not an Honor.

Firstly, The beginning was a hook, which I love. They caught everyones attention with the sex, and then threw in cash while we were watching. The cash represented risk and hedonistic behaviour. Why not inject heroin directly into the viewers arm while you're at it? This beginning was genius, in a sense of enthrallment. Now that you're invested, you watch the lead female descend into a fascinating paranoia. The character Marion was well crafted in plot as she was stiffly acted in film.






"I think I must have one of those faces you can't help believing." --Norman Bates

But now for the main course; Norman Bates. A villain whose role is not entirely understood till the very end, Senor Bates spent the movie as a shadowey figure, cloaked in mystery, and keeper of a great secret. Cleaning up after his mother for sure, but something doesn't sit right. Can he truly sit back and just hide the mother's massacres? But there is more to the man than meets the eye. The true depravity of the soul is explained in great detail, which I actually find some issue with. Of course his secrets should be revealed and closure found, but how far is too far? Is it just me, or did they leave nothing for the imagination? A well written movie for sure, but shouldn't Norman have retained some level of mystique? Would it not have been more fitting for him to have been, in part, unexplainable? I believe he was the linch-pin of movie, and while he was done well, he wasn't perfected in the end (though not to the actor's fault, but the ending dialouge). Otherwise, a fascinating man with a disturbing, enticing darkness within. 


"... Someone always sees a girl with 40,000 dollars." --- P.I. Arbogast

I liked the view, dialogue, performance, and the lack of a message being driven. What went wrong? Plot, in a way. You see, the temptation would certainly be great for anyone in her situation, but I could not shake the feeling that it was less about the general idea of theft for profit and more about the weakness of women. I don't pretend to be feminist, and closer friends may accuse me of being a chauvinist, but I'm no misogynist. It's demeaning, and far more importantly, a weak point in the most important part of the plot.

I would also like to take a moment to mention my respect for the great Alfred Hitchcock. the audacity to make a movie like that, in a time like the sixties? I saw Ben-Hur, and while it was certainly not a tame movie, the psychological horrors of this film where far from normal for the time. In all, the film was a cornerstone in cinema, and a riveting horror to follow. I personally enjoyed the time spent watching it.

Stay Savvy my Friends,

Erudito

Sources:

smartsandcrafts.blogspot.com

paul-lavey.blogspot.com

thisdistractedglobe.com