This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Must See Movie...

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Another movie (made for TV, though) about Hitchcock, this time it takes place around the making of "The Birds".Between this and "Hitchcock" (the Anthony Hopkins movie), I definitely recommend the latter.It's weird. It's the second times Toby Jones portrays a real-life person at the same time another "bigger" (and better) movie is released, based on the same person - I'm referring to "Capote (2005)" vs. "Infamous (2006)".I can't make up my mind about Toby Jones. I see him everywhere. He appears in so many movies - some of them are serious ("The Girl", "Infamous"), others are plain stupid ("Your Highness"). Looks like he takes every role offered to him. I think he can do a decent job when given a good role, but I can't say I saw a movie in which he really impressed me.

Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones) is looking for a blonde to play his next victim in 'The Birds'. His wife Alma (Imelda Staunton) sees Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller) on a TV commercial. Tippi is a little known model when Hitchcock thrust her into super stardom. Hitchcock is a drunk and obsessed with the blonde Tippi. He sexually pursues her and abuses her in the infamous 5-day attic shoot using live birds to attack her. He continues to stalk her, and forces her to strip in one of the scenes in his next movie 'Marnie'.Toby Jones is proving a master mimic once again. He is convincing as Hitchcock. Sienna Miller is a little too sexual for the more virginal idealized character of Tippi Hedren. Tippi indicates that she had fought off plenty of leaches during her modeling days. It would be nice to have that scene in the beginning. Generally, the subject matter may have been intense, but it didn't translate onto the screen. They needed to build the tension up. Instead Hitchcock was creepy from the start. It'd be better to start from a happier place. As for the truth behind the story, I'm unwilling to judge on that matter unlike many other reviewers here. Tippi seems to like it although the climax is really hard to swallow.

I cannot stop asking myself whether this is a documentary or a movie. I've checked the IMDb page again and it says "movie". So, I wonder why everybody here wrote criticism about the storyline being fictional. Man?? This is a movie, not a documentary. I do not care about it being fictional, or Mr.Hitchcock's sexual abuses, or the skills of Hedren, or Hedren's sexual preferences or Hitchcock's being gay or whatsoever, period. "The Girl" is a pretty nice movie with pretty good acting. That's it. If you want to criticize about Hitchcock's real personality, IMDb.com's movie reviews is not the right place and "The Girl" is not a documentary.

EDIT: I'm reviewing this on its own merit as a drama, not based on whether it is true or not, seeing as this is a film review/discussion site.It's never a good idea to judge biopics on the basis of truth. I have no idea whether Hitchcock was really the sexually repressed obsessive that he is in this film but it doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, it's all about the film and what we get is a well-made heartbreaking story about Hitchcock forming an obsession with his lead actress that mirrors the nature of art.Toby Jones gives a brilliant performance as Alfred Hitchcock. Initially it's played very much as dirty old man Hitchcock but Jones adds many layers in, eventually creating a filmmaker who does not have the luxury of being attractive and despite complete confidence in filmmaking, completely lacks self-confidence. Sexual obsession becomes unrequited love- Tippi represents the physical beauty that Hitchcock will never have.The film does not suggest that Hitchcock's work was bad- far from it. It's an exploration of how a filmmaker gets to be a genius and whether it's worth putting your actress at emotional/physical risk if it gets the right effect. We leave the film thinking that Hitchcock had a great instinct for film.Sienna Miller strikes the right note as Tippi Hedren. The character is not meant to be a great actress. Hitchcock does not choose her on the basis of acting ability but on his ability to mould her into the victim. He constantly tells her to look expressionless. Tippi realises that this is how she has been used but is powerless to do anything.The supporting cast are also great, particularly Imelda Staunton as Hitchcock's long-suffering wife, forced almost to act like a pimp. Cinematography is pretty good for a TV movie.How does this compare to the film Hitchcock? Well, I haven't seen that film but from the looks of the trailer, it's very different- a lighthearted film about the making of Psycho. Hopefully the film has more point than the trailer- does anyone really want to watch a hagiography? Hitchcock didn't make cuddly films about jolly people- he made dark thrillers. So why not have a biopic about him that reflects that? The film weaves in parallels between the backstage action and The Birds and Marnie very nicely.The only dodgy bit is the portrayal of the material as being 'the hidden story'. But if you put that aside, this is a bold and interesting film that's not afraid to be controversial.