Fun thriller done with aplomb

Rating: Null/10 (23 August 2002)

I went to see this movie with expectations. After all it's bouncing around (currently) at #20 in the IMDB website. Surely that says a lot? Well, yes it does and I did enjoy this piece (although not to a #20 extent).

Plot? As usual with Hitchcock we have our bit of intrigue and shenanigans. Cary Grant is Roger Thornhill who is, alas for him, mistaken for a spy (when in fact he's a businessman). He starts having to run across America for his life, aided only by one Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) in an effort to understand what's happening to him, who is pursuing him, and why

There's a certain taciturn nature to the performances in these pieces. It obviously reflects the mood of the day, and the reserved-ness of the people, but at times it seems to lend a `stiff' nature to what we see, when compared against the more fluid acting we see today (among those actors capable of actually acting). Still Cary Grant and Saint are perfectly good here and are able to show chemistry that doesn't need to have bodies mauling one another  their conversations can be particularly suggestive and they play off one another well. The rest of the cast, villains and whatnot, all hold to form well and are convincing in their roles (never falling to one-dimensions).
The story is good. It's probably why the script got nominated for an Oscar. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, something shifts and you're forced to think again. My only complaint is that a major plot element of what's going on is revealed to the audience far in advance of Grant's own character. This spoils a fair bit of the tension, and I can but imagine that it was added solely as a concession to producers fearful of alienating audiences. Still there's enough action in here and good lines that this detractor does not spoil the movie itself.
The direction is, again with Hitchcock, good. We get to see `tunnel vision' here (done well), and play the usual game of `spot-the-Hitchcock-cameo'. I also got to admire Hitchcock's other abilities  such as some great shots, which perfectly framed the moment, in particular his incorporation of the background into the moment. In fact there's no real complaints with his work here, and Hitchcock shows how he's able to achieve a good balance of intrigue, action, and romance without compromising the movie's integrity.
And yet, for all this, I was left somewhat disappointed by `North by Northwest'. Perhaps I had too lofty of aspirations for it. Perhaps I missed something. I enjoyed it, it was good, but the tidied ending of it, plus a few other glitches, made me feel ultimately not entirely moved by the experience. To me `Vertigo' is a much stronger piece of work. To this end I award the movie a 7.8/10