Doesn't Stand the Test of Time Well

Rating: 2/10 (5 September 2006)

Though I've enjoyed a couple other Hitchcock movies, this one is incredibly boring for 95+ percent of the viewing time. There are whole chunks of time wasted as the main characters debate about marriage and relationships that I thought we're going to somehow pay off but never do. What some people think is genius--the confinement of the action to Jimmy Stewart's apartment--is actually a severe handicap, as no energy is generated by interesting new locations or discoveries of place. The stagnant setting just intensifies the story's infectious feeling of malaise. There also should have been more of a mystery to it, to keep you guessing and interested. Instead, you pretty much know Thorvald is guilty right from the beginning, so there's not twist or surprise to help make things exciting. Again--extremely boring, the kiss of death for a "thriller." Skip this and watch North by Northwest instead.