BTW, if you want to hear me and the Reel Chat team talk about North By Northwest, check it out here: http://reelchat.com.au/reel-chat-10-0-north-by-northwest-1959/

Hopkins’ portrayal of Hitchcock felt more like a caricature. I’ve never met the real Hitchcock, and yet regardless of any existing recordings of the man himself, Hopkins’ portrayal just didn’t feel right.

At no point in the film did I feel like I was seeing a glimpse of the real Hitchcock, the man behind the King Of Suspense, the man who would’ve undoubtedly presented his reputable, Hollywoodite, suspenseful persona whenever a camera or audio recorder was present. In a (semi)biographical film with a cast of this calibre, I expected to see beyond the myth of the man and certainly beyond the caricature.

You’re right that we were robbed of an opportunity to see the man himself weaving his directorial magic on set. Instead we were presented with a man consumed by his personal demons which would’ve been a great insight but it would’ve been great to balance this with a portrayal of the Hitchcock we all know and love too (rather than all about the demons). Even when faced with his personal demons, we were presented with the caricature and not so much the human behind the caricature.

When he was truly consumed by his personal demons, it was his wife who filled his shoes to keep things under control. Historically, this is credit where credit is due, those who supported Hitchcock (the myth, not the man) from behind the scenes to keep the name and the reputation alive.

Ah well.

Pleasantly surprised to see an almost unrecognisable Aussie face though.