Stylish but barely mediocre overall

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I saw this movie 35 ago, and gave it a 6/10. Just saw it again today, hearing that it is indeed a misunderstood masterwork by Alfred - On second viewing, it is actually worse than I originally thought. Tippii is mostly lousy as the title character. Surprisingly, she does not put in the worst performance in this film, which is put in by Ms. Latham playing her mom. Sean Connery does pretty well despite the weak material and the previously named poor performances. Some interesting shots and another great score from Bernard Herrmann cannot save this disappointing, preposterous film. First 1/3rd - 6/10, middle 1/3rd - 8/10, but the final 1/3rd 4/10 - a big "that's it?" Wow, give it all a 5/10. Took Hitch three more films to regain his form in "Frenzy" (9/10)

This is Hitchcock at his best. Once I start watching this I can't stop and that's after a dozen viewings. Anyone who wants to know what's special about Hitchcock only needs to watch the "shoe," scene with it's silent, real time action, so far ahead of it's time and electrifying in its suspense.The acting from the entire cast was flawless. Tippi Hedren was still very young and new to acting, but perfect for this role, a more experienced actress might have tried to bring too much to what should be a rather stiff character. Laura Latham as Marnie's mother gave a stunning, raw performance. Sean Connery, without the self-importance of his Bond character was more charming, attractive and believable than I've ever seen him in any role. This is a unique, fascinating film.

the labyrinth of the plot. and the strange, cold chemistry between Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. the pillars of a great work of Hitchcock looking to not exactly give a masterpiece but a fascinating puzzle who use sexuality and psychoanalysis for build a powerful confrontation between two characters in same measure week. a film who reminds more its director art than it could be an example of this because it seems change entire story in each scene. the truth about Marnie is suspected by the viewer. and only the right manner to formulate it is unknown. and this is the clue of the film. to be a film about its public. and about the demons who impose the assume for each viewer of the role who defines him.

Marnie can be considered the last of a strong run in the second half of Hitchcock's career. It was his last featuring an icy blonde, much of his technical team, a score by regular collaborator Bernard Herrmann and the films that followed were more politically motivated and not of the same quality. At the time Hitchcock was on an amazing run, making four films in a row that are certain classics. Marnie differs from these films in that it is first and foremost a drama, one with little mystery or suspense and much more focus on psychology.Our title character is a thief who moves from job to job, donning different guises and stealing from them when she has gained trust. Despite her behaviour Marnie is a tough individual to get a grasp of, leaving us wondering why she carries out such acts. We gain little insights into Marnie's life throughout. She had no father, a mother who was distant and seems disturbed by the colour red. We know that it must add up to something. As a result this is by far Hitchcock's most character focused film. Marnie is the centrepiece and trying to figure her out is the core story, everything that takes place is built around the character. Tippi Hedren does an acceptable job playing such a difficult part but she seems out of place. Her emotions sound forced and she makes the character appear a little too passive at times. She simply struggles under the weight of such a role.The story takes shape when Mark Rutland, a wealthy publisher whose company she works for, finds out that she robbed from his safe and reveals to her that knows everything about her past habits. Things take a strange turn when Mark blackmails her into marrying him in order to keep her from going to jail. Mark does seem likable at first and we initially wonder what his reasoning is. But I struggle to believe that he's so attracted to Marnie that he's willing to jeopardise his image in order to uncover some type of trauma in her past. Not to mention that some of his sexual action towards her can make him difficult to sympathise with or understand. Sean Connery plays the role with all the sophistication and charm you could want which certainly adds appeal, but even then I don't think he gets that deep into the character. Much of the films strength lies with how it looks at its themes. This is a very psychological story and touches on issues that were seldom studied in films at the time. The idea of trauma controlling someone's personality and that person's inability to understand why that is. Much of the plot deals with Mark thinking that he can figure out Marnie's psychological issues and stop her compulsive lying and stealing. These parts of the film are the most interesting, we get glimpses into the characters mind-sets and can begin to understand their feelings. More of this would have been beneficial to the film on the whole. As the majority of the characters are hard to relate to or figure out we need to some insight into their situations. Instead we're left cold because it's hard to get a grip of their motivations.The direction is pretty good, Hitchcock doesn't try anything to fanciful but that works here. There are some really ropey effects during the horse-riding moments and the red fades do look daft, but I think that can be forgiven for the time period. The pacing is very well handled. Despite the films length and it's slower pace, there were never any passages were it became boring or unfocused. The sets, lighting and costumes all look effective too. I do enjoy the films colour scheme in fairness, its use of more muted colours matches the tone it is going for. And I know the film is going for more straight-up drama, but I find the lack of mystery and suspense slightly disappointed considering this story is perfect for both. In the end my biggest issue with Marnie is that it is rather unmemorable. It's the type of film you enjoy whilst watching but find it difficult to recall anything that outstanding afterwards. It's well directed but nothing out of the ordinary. It's competently acted but nobody stands out. We never really feel involved with these characters like we should do. I get the impression that Hitchcock loved the idea behind it all yet struggled to bring it into one flowing narrative. I give it credit that its story is an intriguing one and it manages to tackle some fascinating themes effectively, but beyond on that it is very much by the numbers. Not one of Hitchcock's best, not one of his worst, just very much middle ground.