Master of the visual medium

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 2006)

So much has been written about this movie, its hard to know what angle to approach it.
The story concerns an attractive, blonde socialite/High society woman who visits a pet shop and bumps into a dashing Dan dare type Lawyer with a biting wit and acid tongue. They flirt and tease and she decides to buy a pair of lovebirds for his baby sister. She makes a surprise visit to his apartment to deliver the birds, finds out that he is on vacation and decides to visit him in Bodega Bay, lovebirds in toe.
Calm before the storm.
From the moment Melanie arrives in Bodega Bay right up until the inscrutable ending, the landscape is brutalized by a succession of random bird attacks.
Volumes have been written on the possible causes.
Are the attacks freudian in their revenge? Do they come at times of sexual tension or indifference between the star players? Are the towns folk being divinely punished for their mistreatment of these feathered friends. "Back in your gilded cage Melanie Daniels", says Mitch, "Two southern fried chickens", an order from the waitress, the birds pov shot above the town looking down on the devastation. These moments could all be nature's revenge, after all there are many references to caging and eating birds in the film.
Have we been too complacent about life for too long and have we taken these birds for granted? Is it man's wake up call to treat nature with more respect? Is this all a manifestation of Mitch's sexual frustration and annoyance at his clinging mother who can't let go? Who knows but too wallow and psychoanalyse in this is largely missing the point. The true strength of this picture is in its visual power and assembly of shots. Hitchcock employs so much trickery and gimmickry that you are left feeling that you have just watched a lesson in montage and composition. Static shots are interrupted by movement and the process is repeated. Its like watching an eerie photograph punctuated by forward zooms and then back to the freeze frame. Many angles and points of view are shown. This not only disorientates the viewer but makes for great action sequences and startling imagery.
The technical stunt works brilliantly.
8 out of 10.