I Confess

Year: 1953

Grade: C

Country: USA

Director: Hitchcock

Review

third hitchcock in a row. this one is a pretty stock film overall. there aren’t many, if any, of the hitchcock signatures; at least in terms of style. thematically one might be able to make the argument that hitchcock’s religious background unveils itself most fully in this film, but i don’t know much more about that than the fact that he was raised catholic. the film is more of a morality tale and a love story than it is a suspense thriller and that was disappointing. at least in notorious the chemistry between gable and bergman was palpable and genuine; and that’s not to mention the fact that that film was held together by a fairly engaging mystery. this film did none of that. very little suspense, no dali inspired hallucinations (as he did in spellbound, vertigo, and even skin game). i wouldn’t say that this one is a clunker, but for hitchcock it sorta is. p.s. hitchcock is a fan of using shadows of people/objects offscreen to reveal things in a sinister way, or to give the audience information without showing them directly; it’s a nice signature touch of his.