Hitchcock: A Pleasant But Unambitious Biopic  Reviews of the
latest films. Nov. 21 2012 6:22 PM   Dial M for mildly
enjoyable.  Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson
in Hitchcock. Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlett
Johansson in Hitchcock  Photo by Suzanne Tenner/Fox Searchlight
Pictures.  Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock is a pleasant but
unambitious, small-scale biopic, not dissimilar in spirit from
last year’s My Week with Marilyn. It reconstructs and freely
fictionalizes a brief period in its famous subject’s life, never
really aspiring (or daring) to offer much more than a blurred
but generally flattering snapshot of the complicated, difficult
person at its center. I wouldn’t recommend Hitchcock to
cinephiles seeking a bold new take on the master’s life or work,
but if all you want is to while away the afternoon in the
company of some excellent actors in plummy period costume,
Gervasi’s film is not without its pleasures.    Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens  Dana Stevens is Slate's movie critic.