Review: My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock (2023)

Making a film means, first of all, to tell a story.

There isn't a cinephile alive who isn't aware of the reach and impact that Alfred Hitchcock had on the medium. From his proto-slashers to his murder non-mysteries to his noir-tinged man-on-the-run pictures, everyone has their favorites (Mine? Psycho and Rear Window), the hidden gems they stand behind (Torn Curtain), and their just-don't-get-'ems (Vertigo and Frenzy). We know the themes, the motifs, the shots, the scenes.

My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock, the latest documentary from filmmaker Mark Cousins (The Story of Film: An Odyssey, The Eyes of Orson Welles, and a few more movies about movies), is about as comprehensive a career retrospective can be, designed for those who may need such a thing.

What makes the film stand out, however, is the conceit that it is “written and voiced by Alfred Hitchcock,” which is, of course, not true. Hitch has been dead for some 40-plus years and had nothing to do with this film. Instead, he's voiced by English impressionist Alistair McGowan, whose work here is often well-rounded and accurate, while occasionally being a bit too throaty for your listening pleasure. I have to give Cousins credit for steering away from the A.I. voice machine route and having an actual actor do some acting (unlike the Bourdian documentary and, I'm pretty sure, this year's Beach Boys doc), but maybe we shouldn't be giving credit for just doing the right thing. Cousins also writes the narration and he's clearly well-studied and sharp, even if the voiceover is occasionally a tad cheeky.

And it challenges those of us who think we know it all to rethink it all. Cousins posits that enough has been said about Hitchcock's obsession with blondes or the plot mechanics of the MacGuffin (a term he popularized - it's so ubiquitous now that AMC has named their lobby bars after it). Perhaps that is true, as it seems basically impossible to read Hitchcock criticism or listen to commentary that isn't about how Vertigo is his most autobiographical film or how he pushed the censors' standards of sexuality or how he treated his actors. At a point, it's tired.

Cousins, channeling the spirit of Alfred Hitchcock, suggests there's so much more that we don't know. The film is split into six chapters: Desire, Escape, Fulfillment, Loneliness, Time, and Height. Some work better than others, as just about every Hitchcock entry is about longing or identity, while others like Height (get it? Vertigo!) are a bit of a stretch. Many examples are overlooked or under-discussed moments or movies, like Juno and the Paycock and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. How often do you see those films mentioned? That's really what the documentary best showcases, the knowledge that can be mined from the b-sides.

So much of the Hitchcock we know and love, particularly his most notorious hits, are informed by his work in silent pictures. He was a visual master, from subtle clues to crucial evidence, often one of cinema's best at "show, don't tell." Unfortunately, sometimes he would show and then tell, which can be frustrating. Take Rear Window, for example. The opening scene sees Jimmy Stewart staring at his window at his neighbors and we get everything we need from, just as Stewart does, voyeuristically watching their movements and routines. Then, when girlfriend Grace Kelly arrives, Jimmy repeats aloud everything we just saw. Hitch himself once said, "The silent pictures were the purest form of cinema." Themes, images, ideas - these were his strengths.

Those strengths are on full display in My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock, from the ones you know to the ones you don't. Cousins has done his best to shape a two-hour crash course, proving that even if you are well-watched and studied, there's always more to learn. Newcomers will naturally take the most away, most productively using the documentary as a sampler platter before diving into his work.

My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock opens in New York and Los Angeles tomorrow.

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