Plot

The relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959 is explored.

In 1959, Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and his wife, Alma Reville (Dame Helen Mirren), are at the top of their creative game as filmmakers amidst disquieting insinuations about it being time to retire. To recapture his youth's artistic daring, Sir Alfred decides his next movie will adapt the lurid horror novel, "Psycho", over everyone's misgivings. Unfortunately, as Sir Alfred self-finances and labors on this movie, Alma finally loses patience with his roving eye and controlling habits with his actresses. When an ambitious friend lures her to collaborate on a work of their own, the resulting marital tension colors Sir Alfred's work, even as the novel's inspiration haunts his dreams.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

In 1959, Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and his more often than not unheralded collaborator Alma Reville (Dame Helen Mirren), his wife, are revelling in their latest critical and box-office success: North by Northwest (1959). Some in the business believe Sir Alfred, now at age sixty, should hang up his hat while he is still on top, while the brass at Paramount Pictures, to whom he is under contract for one more movie, just wants him to follow North by Northwest (1959) with something in a similar vein to make them money. Sir Alfred, however, wants to stir his creative juices, unlike he has felt he has done with any movie of late. Against the desires of others, including Alma, he is determined that that next project will be a horror movie, specifically an adaptation of a book, that project which will eventually become Psycho (1960). For maximum impact, he wants to buy up whatever existing copies of the book are on the market, so that the public will have no idea what to expect with the movie when it's released, and to have the set closed. While Alma does faithfully support him in this endeavor, Barney Balaban (Richard Portnow), the President at Paramount Pictures, and Geoffrey Shurlock (Kurtwood Smith) with the Censor Board, do not, the former who refuses to finance the movie, leading to Sir Alfred needing to find alternate financing or self-finance, which would result in financial ruin if the movie does not make money, and the latter threatening not to provide certification over the proposed shower scene. These are only two of the external obstacles beyond some on-set problems, including Sir Alfred's mutual dislike of co-star Vera Miles (Jessica Beil), due to their previous working situations. Through it all, there may be issues at home as Sir Alfred suspects Alma of having an affair with writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston), who wanted Sir Alfred to use his latest manuscript as the basis for that follow-up to North by Northwest (1959), while Alma, long having despaired over Sir Alfred's obsessions with his leading ladies, most specifically Grace Kelly, just wants something in her life separate from him.—Huggo

Sir Alfred Hitchcock opens his latest movie, North by Northwest (1959), to considerable success, but is troubled by a reporter's insinuation that he should retire. Seeking to reclaim the artistic daring of his youth, Sir Alfred turns down movie proposals, including Casino Royale and The Diary of Anne Frank, in favor of a horror novel called "Psycho" by Robert Bloch, based on the real-life crimes of murderer Ed Gein. Gein (Michael Wincott) appears in sequences throughout this movie, in which he seems to prompt Sir Alfred's imagination regarding the "Psycho" story, or act as some function of Sir Alfred's subconscious mind (for instance, drawing Sir Alfred's attention to sand on his bathroom floor, the quantity of which reveals how much time his wife Alma (Dame Helen Mirren) has been spending at the beach house with Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston)). Sir Alfred's wife and artistic collaborator, Alma, is no more enthusiastic about the idea than his colleagues, especially since she is being lobbied by their writer friend, Whitfield Cook, to look at his own screenplay. However, she warms to Sir Alfred's proposal, suggesting the innovative plot turn of killing the female lead early in the movie. The studio heads at Paramount Pictures prove to be more difficult to persuade, forcing Sir Alfred to finance the movie personally, and use his Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) television crew (over at competitor Revue/Universal Pictures) to shoot the movie, his last with Paramount Pictures.

In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) opens his latest film, North by Northwest, to both critical and commercial success, but is troubled by a reporter's insinuation that he should retire as he is already 60 years old and perhaps he should quit while he is ahead. Hitchcock had directed 46 movies in his career and is the most famous director in the history of Hollywood.

Seeking to reclaim the artistic daring of his youth, Hitchcock turns down film proposals, including Casino Royale and The Diary of Anne Frank, in favor of a horror novel called Psycho by Robert Bloch, based on the real-life crimes of murderer Ed Gein (Michael Wincott).

Gein was an American murderer, suspected serial killer and body snatcher. Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin. Gein had killed his brother in 1944, but the police ruled it as an accidental death. Gein confessed to killing two women: tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954, and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957. When the police raided Gein's home, they found 10 female heads with their tops sawed off.

Gein appears in sequences throughout the film, in which he seems to prompt Hitchcock's imagination regarding the Psycho story or act as some function of Hitchcock's subconscious mind, for instance, drawing Hitchcock's attention to sand on his bathroom floor, the quantity of which reveals how much time his wife Alma has been spending at the beach house with Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston).

Hitchcock's wife and artistic collaborator, Alma (Helen Mirren), is no more enthusiastic about the idea than his colleagues, especially since she is being lobbied by their writer friend, Whitfield Cook, to look at his own screenplay. Peggy Robertson (Toni Collette) is Hitchcock's personal assistant. Lew Wasserman (Michael Stuhlbarg) is his agent. Hitchcock makes Alma read the book Psycho, specifically the detailed rendition of the shower scene. Alma calls it a low budget, horror movie claptrap. But Hitchcock is convinced that the outcome would be great if a good director made the movie.

However, she warms to Hitchcock's proposal, suggesting the innovative plot turn of killing the female lead early in the film. Hitchcock starts by buying all copies of the novel from all the bookshelves in America. He says that he doesn't want the viewer to find the ending before they see it in the theaters. The studio head at Paramount Pictures Barney Balaban (Richard Portnow) proves more difficult to persuade, forcing Hitchcock to finance the film personally and use his Alfred Hitchcock Presents television crew (over at competitor Revue/Universal) to shoot the film, his last under contract to Paramount. Hitchcock puts in $800,000 budget for the movie and mortgages his house to raise funds. Lew convinces Barney to let Hitchcock finance the movie and Paramount would distribute it, for a 40% cut of the take.

The pressures of the production, such as dealing with Geoffrey Shurlock (Kurtwood Smith) of the Motion Picture Association of America (who represents the censor board and hold the fate of the movie's certification in his hands), and Hitchcock's lecherous habits, such as when they confer with the female lead, Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson), annoy Alma. Hitchcock is frustrated that while he makes Hollywood millions of dollars every year, yet it seems everyone stands in his path to prevent him from doing his best work by making him beg for permission or approval from lesser minds.

Anthony Perkins (James D'Arcy) is cast as the male lead. Alma begins a personal writing collaboration with Whitfield Cook on his screenplay at his beach house without Hitchcock's knowledge. Hitchcock eventually discovers what she has been doing and suspects her of having an affair. This concern affects Hitchcock's work on Psycho. Hitchcock eventually confronts Alma and asks her if she is having an affair. Alma angrily denies it.

Alma temporarily takes over production of the film when Hitchcock is bedridden after collapsing from overwork, working on a sequence which included a complicated process shot showing Detective Arbogast's demise, with Alma's specification of a 35 mm lens, instead of the 50 mm lens preferred by Hitchcock for this film.

Meanwhile, Hitchcock expresses his disappointment to Vera Miles (Jessica Biel) at how she didn't follow through on his plan to make her the next biggest star after Grace Kelly, but Miles says she is happy with her family life.

Hitchcock's cut of Psycho is poorly received by the studio executives, while Alma discovers Whitfield having sex with a younger woman at his beach house. Hitchcock and Alma reconcile and set to work on improving the film. Their renewed collaboration yields results, culminating in Alma persuading Hitchcock to accept their composer's suggestion for adding Bernard Herrmann's (Paul Schackman) harsh strings score to the shower scene.

After maneuvering Shurlock into leaving the film's content largely intact, Hitchcock learns the studio is only going to open the film in two theaters. Hitchcock arranges for special theater instructions to pique the public's interest such as forbidding admittance after the film begins. At the film's premiere, Hitchcock first views the audience from the projection booth, looking out through its small window at them. Hitchcock then waits in the lobby for the audience's reaction, conducting slashing motions to their reactions as they scream on cue. The film is rewarded with an enthusiastic reception.

With the film's screening so well received, Hitchcock publicly thanks his wife for helping make it possible and they affirm their love and partnership. At the conclusion at his home, Hitchcock addresses the audience noting Psycho proved a major high point of his career and he is currently pondering his next project. A raven lands on his shoulder hinting at his next motion picture, The Birds.

Hitchcock directed six more films after Psycho, none of which would eclipse its commercial success, and although he never won an Oscar, the American Film Institute awarded him its Life Achievement Award in 1979: an award that he claimed he shared, as he had his life, with his wife, Alma.