"Psycho" blog review

In Jessica Bennett’s review of the movie “Psycho”, I believe she was successful in analyzing the Hermeneutic Code present in the film. The scene she chose to analyze due to its inclusion of a delay was one of the most memorable scenes in all film history. In it, the main character up to this point, Marion, is brutally and unexpectedly murdered. Alfred Hitchcock was a true master of suspense and thrills, making the emergence of this “blocking” delay very sudden and exciting as a result. Up until this point, the movie has had a somewhat typical plot line. Although the inclusion of partial nudity and other social stigmas made the movie rather racy for its time, as a present day viewer, the first half of the film is basically like any other. We follow Marion in her struggle to find an answer to the enigma of the film: will she and Sam, her distant lover, ever be able to live together? This initially sounds like a story of two lovers longing to be together. When a wealthy client of the bank she works for makes an exorbitant deposit of $40,000, we are given a promise of an answer to the enigma, especially when she decides to steal the money and run away to Sam. Even moments before her death, we are led to believe that Marion will return the money she stole, allowing her to live the respectable life she’s always wanted by turning herself in. As she steps in to the shower, the audience has no idea what’s to come. Suddenly a figure whose face is hidden in shadow rips back the curtain and begins stabbing her violently. With no forewarning of this gruesome event, all of the audience’s preconceived notions about how the story will end are abruptly thrown for a loop. Now our knowledge of the answer to this initial enigma is forever blocked. By killing off the main character before the movie was even half over, Hitchcock was able to make what initially seemed like a romance/drama film into a thrilling, suspenseful mystery to find a killer.