Truly Dreadful Film

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

After beginning this film, excited that it was listed on multiple websites as one of the best "psychological thrillers", I was a bit surprised to find that a good portion of the plot revolved around a love relationship. However, after analyzing every scene, I came to appreciate not only what this relationship did for the movie, but also the incredible detail that went into the film. Every aspect of this film, from lighting to sound, worked incredibly well to create moods depending on the scene. The editing of close ups combined with low-key lighting and dramatic music allowed for many of the scenes closer to the end of the movie to have a jarring effect. Furthermore, I soon found that the relationship was about much more than love. Hitchcock brought up questions of trust, of manipulation, and of greed with the complications that arise between Alicia and Devlin. The relationship in this film between Alicia and Devlin also illustrates the breaking up of the Hays Code during this period, as there were insanely long (compared to previous) kissing scenes and scenes suggesting romance. Although this movie was not as intense and mind-blowing as I expected, the fantastic editing, directing, and cinematography made me really enjoy the film and the questions it raises.

While the leads are excellent and there is sufficient suspense, this one of Hitchcock's lacks both a sense of humour which marks much of his best work and feeling.

In many of Alfred Hitchcock's wartime pics (from WWII to the Cold War era), the master of directing is a bit too heavy in the "rah rah America" department for the films to truly stand the test of time. They played very well for their era, but don't necessarily thrill as much today. Luckily, thanks to some tremendous acting, "Notorious" holds up much better.For a basic plot summary, "Notorious" sees an undercover agent named Devlin (Cary Grant) recruit a young lady (Ingrid Bergman) to infiltrate the home of a suspected German subversive (Claude Rains) setting up a base in the United States.In terms of overall plot, this movie is "three star" all the way, as it is a quite average story. It has the typical Hitchcock "MacGuffin" that drives the action, and the ending is not satisfying whatsoever.However, there are two factors that make this movie very watchable:1. Great acting. Rains is spot-on as the villain of the tale, while Grant & Bergman have incredible chemistry with each other. When the general storyline fails to excite from time to time, the acting carries the proceedings.2. Genuine suspense. There are a couple of scenes in this film that deftly show off the "Hitch touch" in the realm of edge-of-your-seat drama/suspense.Overall, a more accurate rating of "Notorious" would be 3.5 stars. It isn't in the highest echelon of Hitch films, but it is very watchable and never ever outright boring. It suffers from diminishing returns from repeated viewings, but "Notorious" holds it own in the Hitch canon.

Desperate to dissociate herself from her Nazi war criminal father, a young woman with a drinking problem agrees to spy on one of her father's most trusted friends and gets dangerously close in this Alfred Hitchcock wartime drama. The film caused a stir in its day by featuring an elongated kissing scene, and the romance that develops between Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman's characters is pivotal as a secondary motive for her to cooperate. That said, the romance scenes are also the driest parts of the film with the plot taking over half an hour to really get going amidst talk, talk and even more talk. Things do eventually pick-up though and the film is topped off by a deathly intense final scene, as well as an effective conclusion that is both uplifting and gloomy (what an excellent, suggestive final shot!) but it is odd how long it takes the film to warm up. Calling the movie a thriller is in fact inaccurate as the thrills and suspenseful moments are few and far between with several dull patches. During its best moments though, 'Notorious' is unmissable stuff. There is a great moment in which Claude Rains opens Bergman's palms and almost discovers a key she has stolen; angular shots and zooms in and out are also used effectively throughout. Rains is very good too. In many ways, he is the heart and soul of the film with his genuine affection for Bergman and deep- seeded worries about his future late in the piece, and it is refreshing to have so human an antagonist. The overall film may not be quite as solid as his performance, but it makes for decent viewing all the same.