Jack and I found thoroughly captivating this story of the great master of horror (Anthony Hopkins in a fat suit) and his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren has earned three nominations so far) and the making of Psycho (1960). Hopkins was last in these pages in Thor and Mirren in The Debt. No worries about Hopkins' 75 years showing through that makeup, even though in the trailer his age is given as 60, and Mirren at 67 can carry off being 60 (Alfred and Alma were born August 14 and 13, 1899, respectively) because she. Is. Awesome (I'll always love her expressing gratitude she hadn't fallen "ass over tits" at the 2006 Emmy ceremony). The cast of dozens is augmented by Scarlett Johansson (most recently in The Avengers) as Janet Leigh, Danny Huston (yes he is Walter's grandson, John's son, Anjelica's half-brother, etc...some of his best work includes 21 Grams (2003), The Aviator (2004), The Constant Gardener (2005), Children of Men (2006), and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People) as Alma's friend Whitfield Cook, Toni Collette (my favorites are listed in United States of Tara) as secretary Peggy Robertson, and Jessica Biel (Valentine's Day and the far better Easy Virtue) as Vera Miles, among many too numerous to expand. Jack and I did both gasp at the first appearance of James d'Arcy, because he looks so much like Anthony Perkins, which Alma pronounces "Antony." These trivia items tell you which other actors were considered for the role (and other roles).
Director Sasha Gervasi has been much awarded and nominated for a documentary we didn't see (Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008), and co-wrote Craig Ferguson's The Big Tease (1999) and shares credit for the screenplay and story of Spielberg's The Terminal (2004) with Tom Hanks. This time the 1990 book by Stephen Rebello Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho has been adapted by John J. McLaughlin (shared credit on Black Swan).
Normally I would always recommend the original Psycho music by Bernard Herrmann, but in this case it's Danny Elfman (most recently in Silver Linings Playbook) and I loves me some Elfman scores. You can listen to the whole thing in its entirety here, and its finale is the familiar theme from the Hitchcock TV show (here by itself)
If you know that you live where I live, you can see this at our own historic jewel of a neighborhood theatre, but Jack and I saw its opening screening two weeks ago at a 99 year old movie house in Berkeley. As we left I predicted an Oscar nomination for makeup and Entertainment Weekly says that will happen. It's also likely that Mirren will be nominated as well but there's a lot of competition this year and she has been much recognized in the past.
Movie buffs and those who like wonderful period details will enjoy this and we recommend it for all of my readers. Stay until the end of the credits for a brief visual bonus.
Liked "The Girl" on cable Tv when it was immediately followed by "The Birds." I was a junior in high school when "Psycho" hit the theaters, and it was a spectacular memory.
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