Chloe showcases what talent can accomplish, especially during the first half of the film. Compelling performances, creative cinematography, and clever direction grab the audience’s attention. Fearing that her husband David may be cheating, Catherine hires the titular character to tempt him. As Chloe reveals what transpires between her and the music professor, she becomes closer with Catherine. The story is told from Catherine’s perspective: we see how she imagines what happens between David and Chloe gradually, how she wistfully gazes at other couples and compares them to what she thinks her relationships has lost. Gradually, she pulls apart from her …
Saboteur
The climax on top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch is silent: there are no explosions or yells, no chaos or confusion. Simply the drama of two men fighting followed by the villain clinging to the landmark as the hero attempts to help him. The tension is enormous. Saboteur may be one of Alfred Hitchcock’s weaker films but it is still very dramatic. Barry Kane, a reluctant hero, is wrongfully accused of sabotage and must travel across the country to clear his name and prevent a greater act of terrorism. On the way, he meets many people – a chance …
Double Bill at the Bloor Cinema, Part I: Late Hitchcock
One of the prominent aspects Vertigo and Psycho, as with all Alfred Hitchcock films, is the musical scores by Bernard Hermann. It’s not so much the intensity of the music during climatic moments – although that aspect is present as well – but the many other scenes when a more low-key score builds the tension and foreshadows what is to occur later. For every scene at the top of a church bell tower or in a shower, there are several scene on the roads of California that serve as rising action. The audience knows something is about the go wrong …
T.I.F.F. 2009, Part V: The Disappearance of Alice Creed
The Disappearance of Alice Creed is an atypical film, a kidnapping film made from the perspective of the kidnappers; sort of a “Low” version of High and Low. There are only three characters: Alice, Danny, and Vic. A compelling script by talented screenwriter (and first-time director) J Blakeson creates audience sympathy for all of the characters, especially Danny the protagonist who is a tragic hero. There are no scenes involving the police or the victim’s family, so it is not known how close the authorities were to solving the case. Blakeson simply shows the victim and her two captors, who …
Four Forgotten Alfred Hitchcock Films
Rebecca moves slowly but picks up speed as it progresses. It is one of the first films that Alfred Hitchcock made after crossing the Atlantic and the only one which won him a Best Picture Oscar. Shot along the Côte d’Azur in black in white, it lacks the brightness and clarity of To Catch a Thief, which was filmed in Technicolor. The film features tight angles that focus on the leads, Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine and wide, chaotic shots that emphasize how the Second Mrs. de Winter and Mrs. Danvers are losing their heads. At this point, Hitchcock had …