Movie #24 – Psycho (1960) - 109 min, cert 15.
A young secretary (Janet Leigh) goes on the run after entrusted with a small fortune in cash by her boss. She stops for the night at an out-of-the-way motel run by the timid Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). However, Norman’s mother is not so timid and she doesn’t approve of him spending time with pretty young ladies.
It’s undoubtedly a classic, and it’s easy to see why it created such a storm upon its release. It’s the way Hitchcock misleads his audience so perfectly. He builds up a plot line then suddenly changes direction completely just as we are getting comfortable with it. Then he does it again, and again, and each time he does it, it shocks us.
Perkins is quite brilliant as the troubled Bates, it’s hard to comprehend how he failed to secure even a nomination for an Academy Award, especially when the film gained nominations in four other categories.
Score – 7/10. A classic, but starting to look a little dated.
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