Psycho – Evaluation of the Overall Visual Impact of the Film

‘Psycho’ (1960)
Directed by:       Alfred Hitchcock
Starring:               Anthony Perkins
                                Janet Leigh
                                John Gavin
                                Vera Miles

The film opens with a caption that is superimposed over an image of the city. We see the text, "Phoenix, Arizona", followed by "Friday, December the Eleventh" and finally "Two forty-three P.M." This helps in establishing the equilibrium of the film, presenting us with the place in which all events will transpire. However, what this caption also does is give the illusion of everyday life going on - the calm before the storm as it were. The city is depicted in broad daylight, with nothing remotely out-of-the-ordinary to be seen. This sense of familiarity ensures that the initial scenes of the film are relatable to the viewer, and that we identify with the characters that we come to meet as.

Behind the text is the image of Phoenix, Arizona; we see numerous buildings and tower blocks, not dissimilar to any other city. The camera begins to track towards one particular block, and it is at this point that the viewer gets an indication of where our story begins. Once the camera is focused on this particular block, it tracks forward and enters a bedroom. Once again, the illusion of everyday life is presented to the viewer; the notion that the characters we meet are going about their everyday business. We are presented with a couple, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and her partner, Sam Loomis (John Gavin). The director, Alfred Hitchcock, is keen to establish that these are characters that the audience should identify with, and from this point forth the film focuses solely on Marion, up until her untimely death. It is established that Marion and Sam are having an affair, but do not wish for anybody else to know yet. From learning these characters' individual motivations - Marion wanting to be with Sam for longer than one-off romantic meetings; Sam wanting to pay off his debts - we become emotionally invested in them, and the director's intention being that we root for them, and hope they end up together.

As Marion and Sam create a plan to get married, the audience becomes captivated by their story, and the director inserts what is known as a red herring: we believe at this point that the film will tell the story of their romance, with the question being "Will they end up together, or will they be forced apart?" We subsequently see Marion at work, and we meet her colleagues and clients. This connotes everyday life to the viewer, suggesting that at some point in the film something will shatter this illusion. When Marion is requested to put $40,000 in the safe, she seizes the opportunity to take the money, and allow Sam to pay off his debts and pay for their imminent wedding. Although this is effectively stealing, due to the director's portrayal of Marion - appearing in every scene prior to her death - and her motivations, the audience can't help but identify with her.

As Marion takes the money and proceeds to leave Phoenix, Hitchcock employs a technique known as restricted narration, in which the audience only knows as much as Marion. For example, as Marion is driving in the car, we see out of the window screen just as she does, suggesting that we are seeing her point of view. When Marion is driving through the rain, we struggle to see just as she does; this manipulation of the camera not only disorientates the viewer but forces us to identify with her perspective. One method of relating to Marion that Hitchcock employs is the use of frequent extreme close-ups of her face. Due to Janet Leigh's striking eyes - used to convey emotion throughout the film, such as when she is driving, her eyes are wide as she is tense and glancing around anxiously - we are able to see a great deal of emotion in her face. The extreme close-up is also useful for portraying her facial expressions, without distractions from the background or objects around her.

At the Bates Motel, we see Marion resolve to return the $40,000 she stole back to her client in Phoenix - this is an example of a red herring in 'Psycho', as even at this late stage in the film, the audience is still under the impression that the film is telling the story of Marion and her act of stealing money for her boyfriend. Seeing her decision to return the money reflects her sense of morals, which reinforces the fact that she is a good-natured, respectable person worthy of the audience's emotional investment.

It is at this point that the film begins to deviate from what was established in the equilibrium. Marion decides to take a shower, washing her troubles away as it were. The camera uses a medium close-up to show Marion in the shower, not revealing too much of her body, but enough to see her gestures and facial expressions. She appears happy, and at this point the shower scene can only be described as something from our everyday life. Hitchcock subsequently employs shock tactics; as Marion is in the shower, we see the silhouette of a person approach the shower curtain. While Marion is unaware of this, Hitchcock has intended this to shock the audience, and to make us question "Who is this?" This is an example of an enigma code, something which draws the audience's attention in, making us question what we see. For the first time in the film, the camera tracks in relation to a character other than Marion - this perhaps serves as an indicator as to who the figure is, and who we will soon identify with. As the shower curtain is pulled back, the silhouetted figure begins to stab Marion, which is conveyed to the audience through a series of jump cuts, focusing on the different parts of her body being stabbed. This is a horrific scene, and now one of the most iconic in film history. Hitchcock employs a visual metaphor during this scene - as the Marion's blood pours down the plughole, Marion falls to the floor, dying. The blood draining away could be interpreted as a metaphor for the life leaving Marion's body, and in this scene there is a graphic match between the plug hole and Marion's lifeless eye (a stark contrast to her emotive eyes earlier in the film).

Marion's death goes against established film conventions, and forces us to identify with another character after her death, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the owner of the Bates Motel. Believing his mother to be the one who killed Marion, Norman goes to extreme lengths in order to ensure that her brutal crime isn't discovered. Hitchcock places the audience in an exceptional position - although we disagree with the actions of Norman, we are forced to identify with him as he is now the focal point of the movie. It is also at this point that the viewer learns the true meaning of the film's title, the "psycho" being the murderer of Marion and Arbogast.

The use of black-and-white in this film is perhaps another visual metaphor, reflecting the inner turmoil of Norman Bates. Although Norman is in actuality the murderer of the film, the crimes he commits are under the alias of his mother, whom he believes he actually is. Norman's split personality is reflected in the black-and-white tone of the film - two contrasting colours, opposite to eachother. The white represents Norman, the seemingly kind, somewhat insecure owner of the Bates Motel, and black represents his mother, casting a shadow over his life after her death, with memories that he can't suppress. Although never seen to be any more than a decaying corpse, Norman's mother has a great impact on the events of 'Psycho', influencing Norman's actions, through his lack of acceptance that she is dead, to the fact that he carries out crimes believing that it is what she would have wanted.