Psycho

Truly a breathtaking film. Firstly I must talk about the cinematography which perfectly handles tension wilst giving the audience significant insights into every characters thoughts, meaning and overall physiological state. Take Marion in the first act. We slowly see in each shot her paranoia growing inside her. Her sudden glances at the cop or her long stares during her day dreams or even the concern she shows for bates himself. She smiles at her success of stealing the money. Is this her psychological breakdown- the mix of happiness with fear and chaos. The cinematography of Marion slowly consumes her into the likes of Norman bates. The so called 'psyco killer' of this film is the multi-personality mother and son. At the start he is shown sympathetically with his faint smiles and vulnerable eyes. But with each shot he takes more and more control from his victims. My favourite example is the top down shot of arbogasts meeting with the mother side of Bates. The birds eye view foregrounds Norman's full power. The shot shows how Norman's control over birds mirrors his control over Marion and Arbogast. Wilst the cinematography gives perfect insight into characters and supplies tension for the audience, I believe the most important aspect of this film is the script. The long dialogue between Marion and bates is my favourite scene in this film. There is so many lines that show the state of these characters, from "we all go a little mad sometimes" which foreshadows the killings Bates commits, to " I've stepped myself into a private trap back there" which reveals Marion's attempt to stop her from going 'psyco' by finding forgiveness. Another important aspect of the script is the way it builds suspense. Most notably for me is that it told me about the mother being in the cellar, it created a sudden fear that Lila was approaching a likely death. This film birthed the modern horror scene with its realism and use of suspense and hitchcocks plot twist will bring fear to audiences forever.