One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

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

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

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 is a brilliant artist well deserving of the recognition he received for his movies. Having read a dozen books on his life and work, I know he got over-excited with blonds, but I have never read that he was a half-mad rapist wannabe. This is how this libelous film depicts that master of suspense. For some reason the creator of this movie decided to present the -average- Tippi Hedren as a heroine, and the -amazing- Hitch as a villainous director who tries to use the "poor girl" as a sex slave. I find that a film like this insults the memory of a person who is not present to defend his honor and reputation. Unless the creators of this movie can present testimonies that incriminate the deceased beyond any doubt, I can not see how they can make such a film with no consequences. The reason that I rated this with a 3 instead of a 1, is because the actors are very good (much better that the recent "Hitchcock" with Anthony Hopkins), and the direction is also quite good !

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.

As Total Film magazine said of this one-off drama, "it amounts to nothing less than a wholesale character assassination". They were right – it makes Albert Goldman's biography of John Lennon appear hagiographic.While it looks great and Sienna Miller is fine as Hedren and Jones captures Hitch's voice well, The Girl is a narrow and nasty portrayal of the world's greatest film director. In its attempt to construct a drama it forgets some important points: people often have to suffer for their art; Alfred Hitchcock was a film director who knew his audience better than anyone, his understanding of the human condition was deep, and he realised that the thing that mattered most was the experience that the audience would derive from his work. If it meant discomfort and long hours on the set, that was a price worth paying – there's no room for fluffy dressing gowns and tea and biscuit breaks when you're trying to create a masterpiece, something that might last for centuries.To suggest that Hitch unexpectedly sent a model bird crashing through a telephone box window just to terrify and "punish" Hedren, as opposed to being a desire to frighten the wits out of the audience, is absurd. The shoot of The Birds had been meticulously planned for – literally – years, and in any case, why would Hitch risk harming his leading lady's features? The greatest of people are endowed with light and shade, and possess the ability to view human existence from deep and differing positions. Hitchcock was one of these people. This greatness is something to be lauded – not bemoaned and belittled, as was the case with The Girl.