Suspicion

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Shenan and I have both been meaning to watch this one for a long time, as we both like Hitchcock and I hadn't seen it and it's her favorite of his. It turns out she was right, this is a pretty good one.

It pulls a neat trick that I like in horror/thriller movies, where for a while it's lighthearted and is actually a pretty good comedy before slowly morphing into a drama and then into a full-on suspense film. I dig the genre bait-and-switch, and I like to imagine from time to time somebody watches this movie, or Disturbia or From Dusk Til Dawn or Audition and doesn't have any idea where it's heading. Shit, I kind of wish I could watch one of these movies without knowing that there was a big genre shift in store.

We all know that Cary Grant is one of the most charming actors ever, but Hitchcock was great at using him to play characters whose natural charm masks something dark inside. Suspicion isn't a masterpiece like Notorious, but Grant is used to similar effect in both and damn if they aren't two of his best performances. I love a good Bringing Up Baby or My Favorite Wife where he's just really funny and charming, but his best roles are always when he's some kind of secret bastard.