Director Sasha Gervasi's movie tells how Psycho, Hitchcock's most disturbing film, was created.
Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) was fascinated by the story of 1950s serial killer Ed Gein, and used it as the basis for the 1960 film. Despite all his previous successes, he failed to get studio backing for what was dubbed "distasteful and "gruesome", so he mortgaged his luxury home to fund it himself.
The heart of Hitchcock is the director's relationship with his wife and muse, Alma Reville (Helen Mirren). Yet this is the least interesting part. Hopkins, a talented mimic, nails Hitchcock's distinctive tones and looks, but he and his fellow Oscar-winner Mirren fail to spark on screen. Even the recreation of Psycho's infamous shower scene, when Janet Leigh's character (Scarlett Johansson) is stabbed to death, is dull. In fact, Leigh's role pretty much glossed over.
Sadly this film about "The Master of Suspense" fails to offer suspense or thrills. Like a lukewarm shower, you'll wish you hadn't bothered. It makes you nostalgic for 1960s Hollywood, and keen to revisit Psycho to see what Hitchcock missed.
YP Rating: 3/5