Poor old Toby Jones. Remember back in 2006 when his uncanny performance as Truman Capote in Infamous was overshadowed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s showier turn in Capote? Well, it seems it’s happened again. In the same year that Jones undergoes another utterly convincing transformation as Alfred Hitchcock for this HBO/BBC production, Anthony Hopkins is also donning a fat suit to play the twisted genius in Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock, which will reach a much larger audience in cinemas. Although neither actor is a physical match for Hitch (Timothy Spall must have been busy) they’ve both undergone extensive makeup sessions to give them the distinctive profile of the portly genius.
But while all early signs indicate that Gervasi’s Hitchcock is a light-hearted affair with Hopkins portraying the cheeky and comically pompous figure that was Hitch’s public image; The Girl is a dark psychological thriller that allegedly presents his true, twisted self. It’s an alleged truth because it’s basically built around the word of Tippi Hedren, here played by Sienna Miller, and only what she’s said in the last few years. Hedren was plucked from obscurity by Hitchcock to appear in The Birds. The unknown model was selected over all the big name actresses of the day and Hitchcock, having just shocked the world with Psycho, was at the height of his powers.
According to Hedren though, Hitchcock felt she owed him for bringing fame and fortune her way. He made several clumsy attempts to seduce her and when it became obvious she wasn’t interested he took a long, drawn out revenge. He famously unleashed live birds on her instead of the mechanical ones he promised in a scene that took five days to shoot and once The Birds and their next collaboration, Marnie, had wrapped, he kept her under contract for seven years. He never gave her another role but forbade her from appearing in any other films, essentially scuppering her career.
It’s a fairly one-sided tale as Hedren is portrayed as a strong-willed victim and Hitchcock as a lecherous, manipulative bully. His wife and long-time editor and co-writer, Alma Reville, doesn’t fair much better either as Imelda Staunton portrays her as a browbeaten figure trapped in a loveless marriage who knows about her husband’s obsession but is powerless to do anything about it.
Toby Jones proves once again why he’s one of the most underrated British actors working today. He adopts the director’s mannerisms and voice in a freakishly good impersonation but also adds layers of cruelty and self-disgust that we don’t associate with Hitchcock. He manages to make him sympathetic even while shattering our image of him.
As a thriller it’s fantastic and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Hitchcockian. The tense atmosphere is punctuated by moments of melodrama in a way the man himself would be proud of and director Julian Jarrold works in sly visual references to Vertigo, Rear Window and Psycho. The only problem is the question of how true it really is. Obviously it would be a bit harsh to accuse the now 82-year-old Tippi Hedren of making it all up or exaggerating but there is the uncomfortable feeling that if it isn’t true, it’s basically a smear campaign against a well-loved figure who isn’t around to defend himself.
Overall Verdict: A gripping and distinctly Hithcock-esque psychological thriller with an awesome performance by Toby Jones that, rather uncomfortably, presents a twisted and unfamiliar vision of the genius director as fact.
Special Features:
Exclusive Behind-the-scenes documentary
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon