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Irony, irony, irony. Sir Anthony Hopkins and once again Anthony Hopkins. Incomparable and inimitable. Stunning woman, a brilliant cast. Helen Mirren is real. Toni Collette with black hairs and wearing glasses - something new. One cannot select work of make-up, they’ve done a amazing work on Hopkins's transformation in the master Alfred Hitchcock.

 

The picture is penetrated by jokes of the British humor, replete with sarcasm. There are family relations between master Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife Alma (Helen Mirren) in the plot basis. That’s a view from the inside. From the first minutes of the film you can realize absolutely clearly that these two like the continuation of each other, they speak the same language. Alma is full of delicate charm and clever. Exactly such wives make what we see from their husbands.

 

But, as we know, the ideal doesn't exist. And here at last they disagree. She’s for screen version her friend’s novel, he - absorbed by the specific book "Psycho". Reading the book Hitchcock more and more falls in love and plunges deeper into the plot. He’s already seen it on screen.  His interest quickly turns into an obsession. Hitch buys all copies of the book that the audience will find out the book ending only after watching the movie up to the title. A good wife of course support the husband and gives advice. The conflict in the family dies, unable to germinate.

 

Hitchcock talks about disgusting things with absolute calm, like the maniac. For him it’s a norm. No emotions. Even two terriers of family, like the owner, don't express any emotions and, to tell the truth, they absolutely amorphous.

 

War begins with the film company for the realization of the film project. The studio refused financing. But master’s obsessed and intends to make the movie, by all means, by any ways. Freedom. The real American dream. Hitchcock staked everything: the reputation, wellbeing. He bonded their house to gain money for the movie. The family used to live in grand style. But we have to sacrifice something. And here Hitch is visited by the first doubts – and whether all this is necessary, whether he repeats. Mental sorrows about which he can talk only with Alma.  

 

His calmness and firmness surprise. But yet he’s afraid. He’s alive. And Hitch has weaknesses and feelings. He’s immensely afraid of shame, dentists and censors. But he’s still unshakable. With those of whom he’s afraid he emits confidence and shines with sarcasm.

 

There’s interesting episode where Hitchcock tests the actor. Tests by silence. And it bears fruit. The actor begins to tell him about the most secret moments of his life. This show reminds a session at the psychoanalyst. Hitchcock is the brilliant provocateur. He pulls out from actors their true qualities, what they try so hard to hide. It scares. They afraid of him. People are always afraid of something that doesn’t fit into their understanding.

 

Like the heroes of his movies, in the make-up room Hitchcock spies on actress Vera Miles (Jessica Biel). Excessive outward calm is dangerous, hides terrible things.

 

Hitchcock obviously poses to actress Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson). Near by her he ignores his wife and her bans. This wildly annoys Alma. Every gesture of her husband to the piquant young beauty makes her nervous. Jealousy.

 

Amazing shots of the scene in the pool. Red, blue and white. Juicy. A perfect combination. It’s the symbolism showing the state of mind of Alma. She’s tired to be a shadow of the husband. Unfair. Long doubting, she nevertheless decides to buy a bright red swimsuit. The attention of her old friend writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) impresses her. They see each other more often.  As a result she starts on an adventure.

 

Once Hitch sees Alma talking to Cook. Jealousy.

 

They’re madly similar - the jealousy settles in both. But she doesn't give a sign – that’s all difference. But sooner or later the words will break out. Their example is nice to show that the difficult people have difficult family relationships. Like all they have their own demons, but great persons have 10 times more.

 

Hitch, quiet outside - overwhelmed by the passions inside. But once we all lose control. And he breaks down to subordinates. Only alone with himself he can be real, without pretending that makes nobody disappointed. There’s the delicate nature of the thinker hides under the mask of coolness. He’s deep in eternal thoughts and doubts. Like any creative nature he takes everything to heart. This inevitably leads to failure. The conflict in the family, at work - just like everyone but more emotional. Once again we see an example of symbolism. Hitch cleans pools of fallen leaves. Looks like he tries to return their marriage to a starting point when they were only two and they were single whole.  And then again he breaks down and begins to "kill" the leaves, violently thrashing on water. Tries to kill third. Jealousy eats him. The obsessions about adultery of his wife settle in his mind. He’s so obsessed that emotional instability is reflected in a physical state, just like impressionable young ladies of the classical period of history. He takes high-calorific food after troubles. Looks like he had a lot of troubles. Hitchcock becomes paranoid. He picks sand up off the floor in the bathroom, just like a detective. This sand from the beach where his wife spends all the time with her friend Cook. Finally his patience is exhausted. After so many years this couple for the first time talks frankly to each other about all sore. Everyone expressed. He took her for granted and didn't appreciate. He’s lost. He was so mistaken. Tragedy? – Yes. And here Alma runs to her friend… and finds him with young mistress. Disappointment. Sheer disappointment.

 

And here they are – two disappointed and lost spouses in thoughts. Hitch always looked for an ideal. But it doesn’t exist. It’s her, Alma. She’s what he always looked for in others. Only losing, you can realize what you lost. She’s his soul, muse, his life. Without her he’s just a madman with heaps of shortcomings and doubts, not able to breathe life into his creations. But together they can do everything. "Hitchcock" is a family contract. They’re single whole. And they realize it in the same time.

 

We see an ingenious family, the birth of the brilliant movie and music with use "notes of the devil" which was forbidden in the Middle Ages.

 

Scenes of the creation “Psyho” show that Hitchcock is the perfectionist. Up to hallucinations. He is afraid of judgment and failure. But these fears didn't come true. At the premiere, he again spies, but this time for the audience. At the crucial moment in time with "notes of the devil" he like conducts a comprehensive fear of the audience.

 

Fabulous ending of the movie. It takes us to the next masterpiece of the master, the picture “Birds” which didn’t surpass "Psycho".

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