This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Franny’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
Today I watched "Psycho," and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I especially loved the music, always chiming in at the perfect moments to raise the tension. I also liked the camera angles and movement. One example of this is when Bates takes Marion out from the bathroom and the camera shows the newspaper full of money prominently in the shot. Tension, through camera angles and music, builds around the newspaper as the audience wonders whether or not Bates will find the money.
A lot of themes in "Psycho" remind me of themes from "Vertigo," mainly the concepts of delusion and obsession. In "Psycho," Bates obsesses over his mother and then kills her out of jealousy for her new relationship. After, he feels guilty, so he essentially transforms half of himself into his mother to keep her memory alive. In "Vertigo," Scottie obsesses over Madeline. When she dies, he tries to transform Judy into a replica of Madeline. In both films, a man tries to revive a deceased woman he both loves and unhealthily obsesses over.
One difference between the men in these two films, however, is that the audience sympathizes with Scottie, while they root against Bates. A major reason for this is that in "Psycho," Marion is established as the protagonist. The first half is filled with eye line matches, which puts the audience in her perspective. The movie takes a strange turn when the protagonist that the audience has been following suddenly dies halfway through the movie, so the audience must now root for justice instead. In "Vertigo," the audience sees Scottie's perspective throughout the entire film, which helps us forgive Scottie for a lot of his disturbing behavior.
Overall, I enjoyed "Psycho" even more than "Vertigo." It had interesting characters, an unpredictable plot line, and a fantastic score. It was also scary enough to make me turn on all the lights halfway through the film.