More Than One Lesson

In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone.

In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss J.A. Bayona’s The Orphanage.

In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin.

For a director known for thrillers and suspense, I had no idea how many straight-forward domestic dramas were among his early films. Not to mention plays.

The Skin Game is yet another stage adaptation to screen, and it still mostly feels that way. However, this one benefits from impressive performances (particularly from Edmund Gwenn of Miracle on 34th Street fame) and from a tighter, more compelling script. Hitchcock also takes steps to make the film seem more cinematic than his previous outings (particularly Juno and the Paycock), utilizing the camera as more than a theatrical audience viewpoint and playing with alternate points of view (take note of the pivotal auction scene and how Hitchcock toys with expectation and information for a fun example of how the master tries to develop audience engagement).

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In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt.

In many ways, Murder! is Hitchcock’s first example of falling just shy of expectations and potential. That’s not to say that this is a bad film. In fact, it’s often quite good. But given the potential in the premise, and the promise of Hitchcock tackling a classic whodunit formula, this could have been much more thrilling, suspenseful, and intriguing.

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Whew. After two very strong entries (Hitchcock’s final silent film and his first talkie), this return to domestic drama is a sharp left turn off a steep cliff. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews in its initial run, but even Hitchcock himself regards it as something of a let-down.

Based on the play by Sean O’Casey (and also sometimes known as “The Shame of Mary Boyle”), this understated drama focuses on the fortunes and misfortunes of an Irish family amidst the turmoil of the Irish Civil War. Unfortunately that sentence I wrote is about as interesting as anything in the film.

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In this episode, Reed and Nathan discuss the recent cult hit Black Mirror.

Hitchcock’s first “talkie” (and largely regarded as the first British “talkie” at all) is also his first straight-forward suspense film since The Lodger seven films earlier. It required a bit of intuitive insight on Hitchcock’s part into the contemporary cinematic trends to fully create it and it remains one of the strongest entries in Hitchcock’s first decade of films.

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