In my queue I'm trying to mix it up a bit and catch up on some classics that I haven't seen and where better to look than one of the masters, Alfred Hitchcock. 'North by Northwest' was an especially poignant movie to be viewing considering the talk of a possible new Cold War looming during some tough talk around this year's G8 summit. We're far from the US-Soviet relations depicted in Hitchock's film, but that's beside the point. What is noticeable is how well the movie continues to be a relevant and fascinating look at how what is real and what is moral can become disguised and fluid.
The movie revolves around a character played by Cary Grant who is an average Madison Avenue advertising executive (an interesting choice itself) who is mistaken for a spy and ends up fleeing both the authorities and his possible enemies. The plot does not have a particularly straightforward approach and lurches in different directions as the situation changes in what some might find confounding. Instead, I found it to be fitting for what was happening and felt throughout the movie that I had no idea what would happen next. I was at a loss for who represented what influences and Eva Marie Saint remained an enigma for both her relation to the story and her representation of women in general. When the movie doe
s finally begin to wrap up, Grant must make choices that make some pretty profound questions about morality that one could easily extend to issues today related to privacy and terrorism.There is a reason why Hitchcock is considered one of the masters and why this is considered one of his masterpieces. I've seen a few of his movies -- this is maybe the fourth and I'll probably see more (feel free to leave suggestions in the comments) -- and I think I found it to be the most worthwhile viewing. And I don't just think it's all in the timing.
Grade: A
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