My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock (2024)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

MacGuffin Man

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

I'm not at all sure I like the concept of Alfred Hitchcock discussing his own films from beyond the grave (he sneers at the idea of "your cell phones") in Mark Cousins's new documentary My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock. At first I was afraid that it was an AI facsimile, but thankfully it was an actual human, Alistair McGowan, doing a pretty flawless Hitchcock impersonation. However, once you get used to this ghoulish idea, Mark Cousins' two-hour film is a fascinating overview of the great filmmaker's career, and especially his techniques. It more or less lifts the curtain on the tricks he used to make his films work so well.

The documentary is divided into six chapters, Escape, Desire, Loneliness, Time, Fulfillment, and Height. Cousins uses clips from nearly all of Hitch's work — it's a deep-dive into his silent-era films and his lesser-known, lesser-celebrated later works — finding themes and trends like opening doors, or framing devices. We learn about how Hitch liked to have a little "sweet with his salt," or some thorns on his rose, thematically speaking. One rule was that, if a character wants time to move faster, you slow it down for him.

The final chapter is most fascinating, exploring all of Hitchcock's high, overhead shots, including the famous one in Notorious, but also less obvious ones like in Dial M for Murder and Rope. (Rope, a fairly underrated gem in Hitch's filmography, gets a lion's share of screen time here, along with Psycho.) Overall, I'm not sure a newcomer to Hitchcock's work should start here, given that it gives away so many of his little secrets, but die-hard fans (whether or not they've actually seen Juno and the Paycock) will enjoy it.