‘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.
