Psycho 1960 Film Review

Fig 1. Movie Poster.

Alfred Hitchcock, 'The Master of Suspense' 1960 mystery/psychological thriller, proves him worthy of that title. Psycho is adapted from the novel Psycho by Robert Bloch which was inspired by the Ed Gein case. Suspense means: a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen and this is constant throughout and as each step of the story progresses the more our suspense grows. Hitchcock loves to mess with his audience, "the audience is like a giant organ... At one moment we play this note on them and get this reaction, and then we play that chord and they react that way." (Hitchcock), he is able to mess with us because we subconsciously allow him too and he knows just how to do this through his ability to story tell and camera manipulation - he doesn't use dialogue as the main device, which gets the audience to do some thinking and constantly questioning all the minor and major mysteries throughout the film but it's not until Hitchcock allows us to know what happened that we do, when the mystery is revealed we still are left with a dozen questions. Hitchcock really is the organ player and that makes him a genius that he can do that to a wide audience.

The very first scene gives us an insight into the movie's world in this case Phoenix, Arizona, the camera pans over the town in a montage edit searching for the subjects of the film until we are led to the window of Sam and Marion's room, they are both inside but it's not until the camera stays focused on Marion when Sam leaves the shot do the audience subconsciously cling on to her as the protagonist (see fig 2).

Fig 2. Marion and Sam.

It's not long before we are introduced to the plot, Sam has financial struggles and when Marion is asked to deposit $40,000 in the bank for her boss, which in 1960 is worth about $315,000 present day, (£250,980) decides to leave town with the money, we are not told this by any characters but by the camera as it focuses on the money on the bed before panning over to the fully packed suitcase - the audience are intrigued and suspense is born as most people are too morally strong willed to not do something like this. 

Fig 3. Police Officer Close Up.

Marion is followed by the camera intimately, we see her in close ups and see through her point of view like when the police officer knocks on her window where she's sleeping, we see the officer's face in a big close up to exaggerate her shock/disturbance (see fig 3) - again Hitchcock isn't using dialogue to tell this story and again suspense is built, will Marion get caught? Does he know she has stolen money? Because the audience have got to know Marion and her situation the audience feel sympathy and want her to proceed with her plans. We're relieved when he allows her to go but again Hitchcock messes with us by making a reappearance when she's switching cars and pressurizes the car salesmen to do it quickly - it is pointed out that it's rare for a customer to be the eager one.

Fig 4. Marion Close Up.

Carrying onwards with a series of close ups displaying Marion's determination (see fig 4), you can't help but become part of her journey and question is she the psycho the title warns us about? It's not long before this question is dismissed by the meeting of Norman which leads to a very crucial scene in this story where probably the most dialogue takes place this is because he wants the audience to get to know Norman and also sympathize with him when the audience is invested in a character it makes it all the more easier for the director to mess with their audience. During the dialogue scene, Norman is always closer to the screen and Marion is distant this is Hitchcock again making his audience invest in Norman and honing some of that focus on him. 

Fig 5. Set Reflecting character.

Suspense is created when Marion triggers an underlying conflict within Norman which displayed by the camera focusing on his throat, you can see his Adam's apple move again because he's agitated maybe loosing control. The set design in this scene subtly displays as Hitchcock uses the set design to create a sense of character (see fig 5) and if you split the screen into four squares you can see each reveals something. To the left you see a stuffed bird looking down on them but mainly at Marion, this suggests she is next to be his next prey also this could represent the Norman side of Norman, but behind him in the right corner hidden slightly in the dark is another bird, this represents the Mother side of Norman, it stays there like a dark cloud - like a devil on your back. The set and conversation make the audience feel unsettled and again gets the audience thinking - this is how Hitchcock has the ability to mess with an audience he grabs our attention and investment. A slightly less implicit connotation of split personalities is again portrayed in the camera angle, when Norman gets agitated we see one side of his face - this is the mother side, when the conversation ends and Marion leaves, Norman seems normal and we see the other side of his face this is the Norman side, this idea of one side suggests that the audience are only getting one side of the story. 

However that is not the only element that suggests underlying conflict, when Norman leans forward and backwards, it creates this push and pull effect the kind of effect you could compare for obvious reasons to self conflict - being at war with yourself has a push and pull effect. Another set element is the painting of a naked woman, this reflects his sexual conflict and the conflict that results as him dressing up as his mother. After their conversation for the first time, the camera stops following Marion and sticks with Norman and like Marion we get to see through his point of view a couple times: when he's reading her name in the log book and when he is peeping through the hole at Marion changing for her shower, the pervertedness in that sexual conflict he has that triggers a reaction from the audience. What makes the shower murder scene one so famous in history and another praise for Hitchcock's ability to story tell, like Ebert says, "The closing shots are not graphic but symbolic, as blood and water spin down the drain, and the camera cuts to a closeup, the same size, of Marion's unmoving eyeball. This remains the most effective slashing in movie history, suggesting that situation and artistry are more important than graphic details." (Ebert, 1998).

During this conversation they talk about traps, everyone scratches to get out but they're scratching at air - this gives us an insight into Norman's mind and again the imagery evoked creates uneasiness. Which is later on matched when we watch our protagonist Marion die, she is trapped in the bathroom scratching at nothing. "The audience is similarly helpless in Hitchcock's "trap" – but you wouldn't have it any other way." (Monahan, 2015), Hitchcock has ultimately tricked us and manipulated us as the audience, he lets us sympathize with her situation, want her to be safe and to pursue her journey, to get back to Phoenix and take the money back... But no. After that the camera searches for a new host and finds the next person who has grown on us, we watch him clean up and dispose of Marion and her things, he puts her in her car and put that car in the swamp, suspense is strong here as covering up murder is far worse than stealing money and we are eager to see if he gets away with it, when the car doesn't sink straight away we all get a bit anxious, "Analyzing our feelings, we realize we wanted that car to sink, as much as Norman did." (Ebert, 1998) because we have grown to sympathize with Norman, when the car goes under we don't need to be so on edge and again Hitchcock has messed with us. But the story doesn't end there and the camera goes on the search for a new host.

Fig 6. Sam and Lila Mid Shot.

Fig 7. Detective's Big Close Up.

Back in Phoenix we are reunited with Sam and meet Marion's sister Lila and the private detective, we know who the main character is thanks to the camera: Marion and Sam are mid shots but the detective gets favoured by the camera with close ups (see figs 6 and 7). The investigation leads the detective to Norman, where Norman faces scrutiny and the close ups of the camera which as a result somewhat makes the audience feel under scrutiny too as we know what's happened. When the detective goes looking for mother we know what's about to happen and Hitchcock sets us up for that suspense which is increased by his signature music and the audience watch this murder in a omniscient birds eye shot (see fig 8).

Fig 8. Bird's Eye Shot.

One of the most memorable parts of the story is the ending, where Norman has been psychoanalyzed and a psychiatrist is explaining to Sam, Lila and some officers about his mental state, why he is the way he is, what triggered him etc. This part is crucial to the whole storytelling and what makes Psycho such a good one however Ebert disagrees, "I would cut out everything else the psychiatrist says, and cut to the shots of Norman wrapped in the blanket while his mother's voice speaks ("It's sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son..."). Those edits, I submit, would have made "Psycho" very nearly perfect." (Ebert, 1998). Psycho is perfect the way it is, yes Hitchcock could have never given us an explanation but it wouldn't be memorable, Hitchcock has taken time for us to get to know Norman and after the detective (or arguably before) he is the protagonist and the audience's suspense is still being created as we hear whats been going on in Norman's mind so that is the final build up of suspense for this film when we see Norman wrapped up in a blanket (see fig 9), the intimacy of the camera and storytelling allows us not only into Norman's vision but his mind too, we hear what he hears/says to himself. The audience are left in belief and suspense, Hitchcock's pulled it off and has managed to stay in our minds, however some fight this power of Hitchcock's, "Your edict may keep me out of the theatre, my dear Hitchcock, but I'm hanged if it will keep me in." (Lejeune, 2010). 

Fig 9. Psycho Final Scene.

Bibliography:

‘Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) 5 shot Deconstruction/analysis’. (2016) Created by Rick Naumovski. 23 April 2016. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IPcnJwoyo (Accessed on 26 January 2017)

‘Psycho - how Alfred Hitchcock manipulates an audience’. (2016) Created by The Discarded Image. 16 March 2016. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm-9E275D9c (Accessed on 26 January 2017)

Ebert, R. (1998) Psycho movie review & film summary (1960). At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-psycho-1960 (Accessed on 26 January 2017)

Hitchcock, A. (2016) ‘“Psycho” is 50: Remembering its impact, and the Andrew Sarris review’. At: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/psycho-is-50-remembering-its-impact-and-the-andrew-sarris-review-6659107 (Accessed on 26 January 2017)

Lejeune, C. (2010) ‘Psycho: Archive review’ In: The Guardian [online] At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/psycho-hitchcock-archive-review-horror (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Monahan, M. (2015) ‘Psycho, review’ In: The Telegraph [online] At: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11025424/Psycho-review.html (Accessed on 26 January 2017)



Illustration List:

Figure 1. Psycho Movie Poster. (1960) [Poster] (1960) At: http://www.impawards.com/1960/psycho.html (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 2. Sam and Marion. (1960) [Film Still] (1960). Pinterest. At: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/519251032011527049/ (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 3. Police Officer Close Up. (1960) [Film Still] (1960). Reel 3. At: http://reel3.com/marion-norman-and-the-collision-of-narratives-in-psycho/ (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 4. Marion Close Up. (1960) [Film Still] (1960) Scenic Routes. https://www.facebook.com/theavclub. At: http://www.avclub.com/article/empsychoem-55385 (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 5. Set Reflecting Character. (1960) [Film Still] (1960) At: http://www.fact.co.uk/news-articles/2016/02/psycho-hitchcock-s-masterpiece.aspx (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 6. Sam and Lila Mid Shot. (1960) [Film Still] At: https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Hitchcock_Gallery:_image_4028 (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 7. Detective Close Up. (1960) [Film Still] (1960) At: http://coolercinema.blogspot.co.uk/2010_02_01_archive.html (Accessed on 27 January 2017)

Figure 9. Psycho Final Scene. (1960) [Film Still] (2016) At: http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/tkttran/clips/psycho-final-scene (Accessed on 27 January 2017)