Chris Flackett
What is there left to say about Alfred Hitchcock, one of the most famous, most celebrated and perhaps the most written-about film directors of all time? Haven’t we heard it all before? Perhaps the only way around such a dilemma would be to allow ‘Hitch’ to speak for himself, to tell us about his films and film-making in his own words. A bit of a tall order considering Mr Hitchcock has been dead for 44 years, but wait: My Name is Alfred Hitchcock, the highly enjoyable documentary by writer, filmmaker and cineaste Mark Cousins, takes a novel approach to the problem.
If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then the narration given by ‘Alfred Hitchcock’, as voiced by impressionist Alastair McGowen, is clear in its affection not only for ‘Hitch’ the filmmaker but also ‘Hitch’ the personality. McGowen mostly nails Hitchcock’s distinctive cockney tones, even if occasionally he does veer a little too close to Michael Caine for comfort. Still, the impression is strong enough and filled with enough truisms of Hitchcock’s manner that I bought into the idea of ‘Hitch’ talking to us without issue.
Of course, voice impressionist or not, we know deep down that Hitchcock is not talking to us, not really. The script is not made of a patchwork of quotes and observations from interviews with the man himself. Rather, the script is a creative trick, assembled from strenuous notetaking Cousins undertook while rewatching Hitchcock’s filmography in chronological order during lockdown, as well as scouring through the many books written about Hitchcock and countless hours of interviews to truly capture his voice. Cousins has since said he came away with “a thousand bits of paper” by the end of his research, and the amount of research shows in the film itself. It’s the kind of attention to detail and intensity of application of information that I have come to expect of Cousins, whose TV series and book The Story of Film is a fascinating history and dissection of the artform for both newcomers and well-worn cineastes.
The result is that My Name is Alfred Hitchcock displays truthfulness and authenticity in Hitchcock’s voice, even as it speaks Cousins’s words. Early on in the film, ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ tells us that he will only lie to us once during the film, and he does. In the same way, Cousins also lies to us, giving us the illusion of Hitchcock speaking for himself. In both cases though this is a playfulness that demonstrates respect for its audience—‘we know the rules, now let’s have a little fun with them’. Hitchcock, as he states throughout My Name is Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to play with his audience, and so does Cousins, and it’s this respectful play that lends the film significant charm.
The number of Hitchcock films discussed and referred to throughout the film is both wide-ranging and impressive and demonstrates the breadth of research done. Not only are the usual suspects examined (Psycho, Rear Window, The Birds, Vertigo), but a full appreciation of the body of Hitchcock’s work is given by examinations of moments from such early and, in some cases, more obscure ‘Hitch’ films such as The Pleasure Garden, The Lodger, The Farmer’s Wife, Juno and The Paycock and The Lady Vanishes. Other notable works such as Torn Curtain, Rope and Marnie are referred to throughout. This extensiveness gives a fuller-bodied impression of Hitchcock’s oeuvre than it might if Cousins had focussed solely on the more widely-known films.
My Names is Alfred Hitchcock is broken up into six segments, each one exploring an element Cousins has observed in Hitchcock’s work and linking that element back into Hitchcock’s life and psyche so as to examine the correlations. The elements in question, Escape, Desire, Loneliness, Time, Fulfilment, and Height are interesting and are given more weight with the director’s own ‘narration’, suggesting almost a confessional of sorts—something the director of I Confess may have been bemused by.
The cases made for certain opinions and conclusions and certainly convincing and well-argued, and while sometimes it does feel that we’re not learning anything new, certainly a risk with such a highly analysed director, My Name is Alfred Hitchcock succeeds most when it makes points that, for me at least, are roads less-travelled. Hitchcock’s use of extremely high-angled shots in the Height segment made me realise that, while I could of course recognise and refer back to such traits in Hitchcock’s work (the opening of Psycho for instance, or the famous crop duster sequence in North By Northwest), I had never considered this as a particular trait of his. It’s fascinating to hear ‘Hitchcock’ discuss this, as for a man who was so focused on his cinematography accentuating the character and the narrative experience as well as the audiences’, hearing ‘Hitch’ talk about the pleasure of featuring high-angled shots for their compositional beauty alone felt insightful.
Fulfilment too, if less revelatory, helped to bring Hitchcock the man squarely into the conversation. His love for and dependence on his wife Alma is well-known, and yet there is something heartwarming in hearing ‘Hitchcock’ referring to his marriage as the most fulfilling part of his life. He might have been the Master of Suspense, but Alfred Hitchcock was flesh and blood as much as the rest of us and was just as in need of love. Considering the discussions of escape and loneliness earlier in the film, it is touching to find ‘Hitch’ found home in the arms of another person.
Filled with clip after great clip from the great director’s work, and utilising a playful creativeness to attempt to bring a new slant to the man, My Name is Alfred Hitchcock is a rewarding, informative and entertaining documentary that should appeal to Hitchcock fanatics and cineastes alike. It attempts to find new ways to look at a much-thumbed subject and, perhaps most importantly, it filled me with excitement to dive right back into Hitchcock’s filmography and relive all those magical movies once more, this time with new enthusiasm and fresh eyes.
What can be a better result than that?
My Name is Alfred Hitchcock is playing at various theatres across the United States from October 25th 2024. Find out more information and book tickets here.
