Through a Glass Not Darkly Enough

Rating: 5/10 (11 May 2009)

First let me get this out of the way. I'm a huge Hitchcock fan. But this simply is not one of my favorites. Usually movies based on noir writer Cornell Woolrich's plots work very well with his unusual twists and turns and core themes of nothing being as it 'seems' until in the end we see 'the truth' behind the facade. There's a little of that here, but just a little. It's as straightforward as possible. Yes, the set for this movie is wonderful. But the 'star' turns from Stewart, Kelly, Ritter, even Burr et. al, are a bit artificial. James Stewart, I have to admit, I've never liked in Hitchcock movies like 'Rope' or 'Man Who Knew Too Much' - his aw shucks, limited acting vocabulary doesn't stretch far. Grace Kelly - I don't believe she is in love with this man for a minute. Her accent is strange throughout and distracting and she is wooden - trying so hard to look beautiful she doesn't dare let a real expression cross her face. Her saving the day from afar is the last thing I'd expect this Patrician Figure to attempt - maybe Teresa Wright or even an Anna Massey, but not Grace. Thelma does her shtick - but does it to better effect in ALL ABOUT EVE. Burr seems a bit uncomfortable in the role of the one-note hapless villain and Judith Evelyn seems lost as sea as well in her rather thankless cameo as Ms. Lonelyhearts. She does her usual hysterical turn, but not as well as she does in THE TINGLER or FEMALE ON THE BEACH. There are some boring stretches along the way and too much artifice here - notwithstanding the interesting 'claustropobic' set, done just as well in LIFEBOAT as far as I'm concerned. The actors never seemed real people but 'stars' playing themselves. As such, they didn't provide enough interest for me as characters and helped keep the movie a bit 'flat'. The so-called climactic scene of Burr confronting Stweart was a real let-down. I can name a lot of H's movies that seemed scarier and more real, and had great photography too, such as THE BIRDS, MARNIE, and the excellently acted FRENZY. Not to mention the tension, editing and groundbreaking cinematic 'vision' seen in his early black and white pictures. But this seems to be everybody's favorite and that's fine with me, there's no right or wrong opinion. This one just doesn't grab me.