Week 51: 'Frenzy' [1972]
Source: Blu-ray
Hitchcock's penultimate movie sees a return to his roots, with a wrongly-accused-man-on-the-run thriller filmed in London. Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), ex-soldier, lady's man, soon-to-be-fired barman and expert at being in the wrong place at the wrong time, is suspected of being the notorious Neck Tie Killer, a serial rapist & strangler of young women around London. A few close friends aid him as he attempts to elude police, but circumstantial evidence is piling up and the net is closing in. Will his friends continue to believe his protestations? Will they become the next victims? Will the innocent be sentenced and guilty go free?
There is almost a sense of whiplash from watching 'Frenzy' so soon after 'Topaz'. There may only be a difference of 3 years between them, but the new decade seems so much fresher and more modern that it hardly feels like a Hitchcock film at all. Hitch gets to play in the newly liberated sandbox, with cruder language and flashes of nudity. The violence is very much hands-on, but somehow seems less shocking than, say, 'Psycho'.
A few touches show that it truly is a Hitchcock production. Firstly, this is a darkly humorous film. Some moments are just flat-out funny, such as the scenes between the police inspector and his wife, trying out exotic culinary dishes, or the couple leaving the match-making agency. Others are more gallows humor (are the grotesque facial contortions of the female victims supposed to be intentional silly? Or the breaking of one victim's fingers to retrieve a vital clue? I couldn't tell, but the latter worked for me more than the former).
Suspense is in play here in one key area, in the aforementioned scene where the murderer tries to hide his traces and nearly gets caught. It is classic Hitchcock in which the audience is suddenly rooting for the villain, adding again some almost slapstick humor into the mix.
In terms of direction, it is mostly low-key and low-energy (Hitchcock was in his 70s by now) but with some solid flourishes. One murder occurs off-screen whilst the camera pulls back, from the door, down the stairs, through the hallway, into the street ending on a wide shot of the oblivious comings-and-goings of passers-by. Like 'Topaz', Hitchcock uses sound and silence well here, and also later in the courtroom scene where we are only privy to snippets of the case as the door opens and closes.
Acting overall is good, utilizing many well-known (to UK viewers) character actors, and the early 70s fashions weren't so distracting as I find is often the case (although blue eye-shadow is prevalent throughout, be warned). The film feels overlong, especially in the third act, but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. Not up to his 50s to early 60s thrillers, but it shows that Hitchcock could still show audiences a thing or two into the 70s.
I have nothing bad to say about the blu-ray from the 'Masterpiece Collection' - it looked crisp and clean to my eyes and sounded fine, despite the poor blu-ray.com review.