Surprisingly cheerful for a Hitchcock film

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2018)

If you had to name Alfred Hitchcock's two most influential films, you could not go wrong with Vertigo and Psycho. Both are dark psychological thrillers that delve deep into the human psyche, in which you can trust no one or anything, and even though, according to the customs of the time, the good guys win in the end, they're not what we would call clean victories.
North by Northwest happens to be the film Hitchcock filmed in between these two monoliths. And it's clear he had decided that he needed a break, because by his standards this is almost a holiday film. But, it's still very much a Hitchcock film. The camerawork is superb and rather noticeable, but in a good way. The characters have that Hitchcock feel to them. And the plot is still a mystery story.
But somehow it feels more lighthearted than usual. And I think it is the dialogue that's to blame. Plus the music that's almost frivolous in tone. This is a spy thriller where gorgeous men and women exchange witty one-liners over martini glasses, the villains twirl their mustaches and the death traps defy all expectations. It is almost like a proto Roger Moore James Bond film, over a decade in advance.
And yet it is a Hitchcock film, with all the goodies that usual implies. Aside from the nail-biting corkscrew of piling tension, that is. Is it his best film? Nah, but it's a breath of fresh air if you've watched a whole bunch of his films and want something a bit lighter, but still in the same style.