I watched this movie with a bit of trepidation. I can imagine generations of first year film majors watching this and being filled with emotional response and a desire to write... I can imagine academics building their careers through careful interpretation and dissection of this wonderful piece of cinematic history. Books have been written. People have nodded and bowed to this film time and time again.
So, what do I say without fearing judgment? Whatever I want. Such is the awesome power of a review blog that really doesn't try to be written by a critic. All I aim to do is record first impressions of a woman who has had next-to-no exposure to the wide world of film. Here it goes...
It was wonderful that the film built up a relationship with Marion Crane at the beginning of the film. It reduces our ability to anticipate the action, as we like to expect that the characters that are best developed are the characters we see through to the end. The characters that don't appear until well into the film, like Norman Bates, aren't on our radar as a serial killer in the same way, thanks to this introduction.
I found that the black and white cinematography really added to the film. It reminds the viewer they are watching a narrative, and I think that the film can get away with more when being "realistic" doesn't require as much colour matching, but instead more texture producing.
In the infamous "shower scene", I though the choice of many quick shots was really helpful to indicate movement and action without actually showing us anything. These contrasted well with the stagnant, at first bizarre seeming shots of the showerhead or Marion getting her hair wet. By focusing so closely on the eye, and then pulling out to the full face, it forced the viewer to connect with the dead person. It confirmed for us that the star was killed off, with an hour or more to go! Expectations need to be adjusted, or, best case scenario, left at the door entirely.
I thought Norman Bates was well cast. He was a sufficient mix of creepy and sympathetic that we got to keep guessing for awhile. By the time he cleans up the body, we are both beginning to give him sympathy, and beginning to dislike him. His status as an accomplice through clean up and disposal makes him ethically questionable, without being totally without values.
The use of voice over in the film was really interesting. It served to connect the first criminal, Marion, to the mother at the end. We see a more or less healthy imagining of what people would say or do based on past experience, and then we see the extremes of the same behaviour. Marion has to work through, alone, how she should judge herself as a thief. In the same way, Norman went through this type of internal negotiation, except for years with little other human interaction.
From a thriller perspective, this movie, obviously, is the cream of the crop. It doesn't intend to gross out (most of the time), but instead seeks to build anticipation, provide misdirection, and ultimately, leave room for a bit of a twist at the end.
And finally, this film confirmed for me that you can't have a hobby like taxidermy without being somewhat psychologically off... or a serial killer. Don't stuff dead stuff.
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