Psycho
This was actually my first time ever watching Psycho, but I watched Bates Motel so I knew everything about Norman's issues and his dead mother going into it. I thought it was interesting how the movie began with all the focus on Marion and Sam, but the main character ends up being Norman. You start off the movie thinking that Sam and Marion's love story is the most important part of the plot, but realize later that it is only a side story.
One of the scenes that I found interesting was when Marion was leaving town in her car after she decided to steal the $40,000. As she was driving, all these voice recordings of what everyone in Phoenix was thinking began to play. I was confused about whether this was all in her head and she was making up conversations that she thought were going on, or if these conversations were real for the audience to hear.
Knowing Norman's situation made it difficult for there to be spoilers for me, so I wish there was a way I could've watched the movie without knowing the truth behind it all. I wonder if I would've caught onto the fact that Norman's mother was dead or if it would've come as a huge shock to me. For instance, I thought it was interesting how Norman said, "We're all in our own private traps." I knew this referred to his mental illness and the fact that he is unwillingly stuck with his madness, but I don't know what I would have made of this comment if I had not already known his story. Maybe I would've attributed it to him being stuck taking care of his "crazy mother."
Hitchcock did not put a lot of focus on physical evidence and finding clues. In fact, the actual evidence from the crime scene (the car, dead bodies, shower curtain, stolen money) was not uncovered until the very end of the movie. The only discovery of evidence that was made was when Sam and Lila went to the motel and found the ripped up piece of paper that Marion had used to keep track of the money. They also noticed that her motel room was missing the shower curtain. While these clues were logical to the story, they didn't really play a big role in helping Lila and Sam figure out the crime. In fact, these pieces of evidence were pretty insignificant and were overlooked. The primary source of evidence in the film was the way people reacted to things and how they carried themselves. For example, Marion was being so incredibly suspicious when the cop pulled her over, it's no wonder he thought she was up to something. In the same way, Norman was acting extremely nervous when Detective Arbogast came to question him, so it makes sense that he concluded Norman was guilty.
Bates Motel. A&E Network. March 18, 2013.
One of the scenes that I found interesting was when Marion was leaving town in her car after she decided to steal the $40,000. As she was driving, all these voice recordings of what everyone in Phoenix was thinking began to play. I was confused about whether this was all in her head and she was making up conversations that she thought were going on, or if these conversations were real for the audience to hear.
Knowing Norman's situation made it difficult for there to be spoilers for me, so I wish there was a way I could've watched the movie without knowing the truth behind it all. I wonder if I would've caught onto the fact that Norman's mother was dead or if it would've come as a huge shock to me. For instance, I thought it was interesting how Norman said, "We're all in our own private traps." I knew this referred to his mental illness and the fact that he is unwillingly stuck with his madness, but I don't know what I would have made of this comment if I had not already known his story. Maybe I would've attributed it to him being stuck taking care of his "crazy mother."
Hitchcock did not put a lot of focus on physical evidence and finding clues. In fact, the actual evidence from the crime scene (the car, dead bodies, shower curtain, stolen money) was not uncovered until the very end of the movie. The only discovery of evidence that was made was when Sam and Lila went to the motel and found the ripped up piece of paper that Marion had used to keep track of the money. They also noticed that her motel room was missing the shower curtain. While these clues were logical to the story, they didn't really play a big role in helping Lila and Sam figure out the crime. In fact, these pieces of evidence were pretty insignificant and were overlooked. The primary source of evidence in the film was the way people reacted to things and how they carried themselves. For example, Marion was being so incredibly suspicious when the cop pulled her over, it's no wonder he thought she was up to something. In the same way, Norman was acting extremely nervous when Detective Arbogast came to question him, so it makes sense that he concluded Norman was guilty.
Bates Motel. A&E Network. March 18, 2013.
I was also pretty confused about the voice overs and I wondered why they would show her driving (it's not like anything important was going on) instead of actually showing the conversations happening. I like how you brought up the private traps and how it referred to his mental illness--I didn't make that connection at all. I also like how you mentioned that the main source of evidence were the actions and reactions of the characters themselves--I didn't view those at first as evidence but I can totally see what you mean.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis, and it's intriguing to read the reaction of someone who already knew the big plot twist of the movie. This was my first time watching this movie, so I was completely taken aback by all Hitchcock's plot movements and suspenseful, stylistic choices. I also commend you on realizing that the scrap note and the missing shower curtains were the only real evidence in this movie, because they frankly left my mind as important.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said! I especially like your observation that Hitchcock relies not on on physical evidence, but the actions of the characters as evidence. I did not realize that the only two pieces of evidence were the scrap note and the missing shower curtains, because I assumed it was going to be just like the classic mystery novel. It was also really interesting to read this from the perspective of someone who knew what was going to happen, because like Varun, I had never seen Psycho before. Good job!
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