Fine, but over-hyped

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2016)

As with many such films, this one starts out with a very intriguing premise which tension only builds up as the elements of the plot flourish more and more towards the middle of the development... before stalling some during the last third of the film, somewhat toning down the fine quality of the early viewing. This film is too long for its own good, and has a bit of a rare 'symptom' of peaking too soon. It seems all the pressure fomented in the first hour is already resolved well before the final act of the film, and although there is certainly matter to the second half of the story, a lot of the essential atmosphere and purpose the film was subtly weaving for a while are put to sleep before a different kind of tone or 'color' (*wink wink*) completely takes over - one that is much more obvious, ordinary, maybe somewhat tedious. The first half is so mysterious, intimate, smooth, suspenseful, hauntingly romantic... and all this is traded away for a more conventional affair. Finally, the very title of the film seems a little misleading if not a lot, especially given this is a Hitchcock, where one would really expect something different and isn't necessarily given a worthy compensation for it. Overall, it's a fine film, but weaker in some respects than it seems it is given credit for.