The Girl (2012)

The turbulent relationship between filmmaker Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones) and actress Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller).

Director:

Julian Jarrold

Writers:

Gwyneth Hughes, Donald Spoto (book)

Stars:

Sienna Miller, Toby Jones, Imelda Staunton

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sienna Miller	...	Tippi Hedren
Toby Jones	...	Alfred Hitchcock
Imelda Staunton	...	Alma Reville Hitchcock
Conrad Kemp	...	Evan Hunter
Penelope Wilton	...	Peggy Robertson
Angelina Ingpen	...	Melanie
Candice D'Arcy	...	Josephine Milton
Carl Beukes	...	Jim Brown
Kate Tilley	...	Rita Riggs
Aubrey Shelton	...	Maitre D
Leon Clingman	...	Ray Berwick
Patrick Lyster	...	Bob Boyle

Storyline

When Grace Kelly retires from movies to marry Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones) looks for a similar blonde and finds her in a television model. The little known Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller), who will star in his movie adaptation of horror story "The Birds". Hitchcock is obsessed with Tippi sexually, and when she rebuffs his advances, sadistically puts her through five days of filming where she is attacked and injured by real birds. Hitchcock's wife Alma (Imelda Staunton) and his assistant Peggy Robertson (Dame Penelope Wilton) are appalled, but can do nothing. Tippi is resolved that she will not give in to Hitchcock despite the situation giving her nightmares. Hitchcock and Tippi make a second movie, Marnie (1964). Having admitted that Alma is the only woman with whom he has ever had sex, and that he now finds her cold, Hitchcock continues to pursue Tippi, bombarding her with phone calls declaring his love for her, yet reminding her that he alone made ...

---

Plot Keywords:

bird | model | blonde | director | actress | 

---

Taglines:

He made her his star. And his darkest obsession.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rita Riggs, who worked on The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964), was interviewed by Screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes before this movie was written, but subsequently claimed that her remarks were either entirely ignored or else falsified or distorted. She had been entirely complimentary about Sir Alfred Hitchcock and insisted that his behavior towards Tippi Hedren had been entirely professional.

---

Goofs

In every scene where there are telephones, British GPO 700-series phones are seen. In the area where Universal Studios is located Western Electric 500-series phones were used (or earlier) because it is in Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company territory (now AT&T).

---

Quotes

Alfred Hitchcock: A worried young man from Stamboul / Discovered red spots on his tool. / Said the doctor, a cynic, / Get out of my clinic! / Just wipe off that lipstick, you fool.

---

Connections

References Vertigo (1958)

---

Soundtracks

Tristan And Isolde: Act I Prelude
Written by Richard Wagner
Performed by Daniel Barenboim (as Daniel Baranboim)

User Reviews

Unpleasant motives

As Total Film magazine said of this one-off drama, "it amounts to nothing less than a wholesale character assassination". They were right – it makes Albert Goldman's biography of John Lennon appear hagiographic.

While it looks great and Sienna Miller is fine as Hedren and Jones captures Hitch's voice well, The Girl is a narrow and nasty portrayal of the world's greatest film director. In its attempt to construct a drama it forgets some important points: people often have to suffer for their art; Alfred Hitchcock was a film director who knew his audience better than anyone, his understanding of the human condition was deep, and he realised that the thing that mattered most was the experience that the audience would derive from his work. If it meant discomfort and long hours on the set, that was a price worth paying – there's no room for fluffy dressing gowns and tea and biscuit breaks when you're trying to create a masterpiece, something that might last for centuries.

To suggest that Hitch unexpectedly sent a model bird crashing through a telephone box window just to terrify and "punish" Hedren, as opposed to being a desire to frighten the wits out of the audience, is absurd. The shoot of The Birds had been meticulously planned for – literally – years, and in any case, why would Hitch risk harming his leading lady's features? The greatest of people are endowed with light and shade, and possess the ability to view human existence from deep and differing positions. Hitchcock was one of these people. This greatness is something to be lauded – not bemoaned and belittled, as was the case with The Girl.

Details

Country:

UK South Africa USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Girl

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wall to Wall Media, Warner Bros., Moonlighting Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1