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| Barry Foster fights with dead body in Frenzy |
Frenzy (1972), his second to last film, is one of his greatest thrillers and yet, for some reason, it is rarely mentioned in the same breath as his more widely recognized masterpieces like Psycho (1960) and Vertigo (1958).
Thankfully, a bit of a critical re-evaluation has begun on what used to be derisively dismissed as Hitchcock's late period.
The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964) are finally beginning to be viewed as the psychologically complex and ahead-of-their time character studies that they were.
Hopefully, Frenzy, with its simple but deeply scary premise and its gallows humor will be similarly resurrected and redeemed.
As it stands, Frenzy is unique in that it is in many ways Hitchcock's most sexually graphic film. Probably the film's most famous scene is a prolonged and truly shocking rape scene. But even this undeniably creepy moment is filmed with Hitchcock's signature restraint. Still, it's jarring to see nudity in a Hitchcock film.
He also eschews his traditional likable leading man, usually played by a star (Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant being among his favorites) for a testy and far-from-charismatic hero (played very well by British actor Jon Finch). The more genial character (SPOILER ALERT) is the killer, played by Barry Foster.
The role Foster plays was apparently intended for Michael Caine, and you can see why. He needs to be slightly charming even when he's doing the most reprehensible things.
This film was something of a return to glory for Hitchcock. After several of his Hollywood films failed commercially he returned to his native London and made this dark little thriller with no major stars or frills.
The premise has always been particularly disturbing to me, because I think, like a lot of people, I've always had a somewhat irrational fear of being accused of a crime I didn't commit.
Finch plays a man who is down on his luck and because of an unfortunate coincidence is linked to a series of murders he didn't commit. The crimes are actually being perpetrated by his "friend" played by Foster.
However, because of a series of unintentionally incriminating actions, Finch's character has set himself up to be the fall guy without even knowing it. Meanwhile, as harrowing as all this is, Hitchcock still has his customary black humor.
The inspector investigating the case must endure his wife's increasingly grotesque homemade meals while the killer has to literally wrestle with the body of one of his victim's just to retrieve an item that could give away his identity. The fact that this is all handled deftly and hilariously is a tribute to Hitchcock's considerable skills, which were not diminished even though he was in his 70s by the time this film was made.
For me, the best moment/shot in the film is a quiet one. Finch's character's girlfriend (played by Anna Massey) runs into Foster's character in a public place. By now we know he is the killer and, in typical Hitchockian fashion, she doesn't have a clue. He talks her into coming back to an apartment with him and as they enter he says a line we heard him say to a previous victim "You're my kind of woman."
Then they enter and the camera slowly pans backwards, out of the apartment building and onto the noisy London street below. We never see what happens to Massey's character and we don't need to and suddenly the moment takes on deeper meaning. These tragedies are taking place behind closed doors all the time and we are totally ignorant to what is taking place.
I find that the best Hitchcock films work on several levels. The plots make me think about real life dilemmas (albeit hypothetical ones), the visuals make me appreciate the power of cinema and the subtext makes me think about the deep psychological and philosophical meanings that can be interpreted under the surface of the melodrama. Frenzy works on all three levels. And it has a great punchline of an ending.
I suppose this is why they call him "The Master".
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