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Beginning in the city Marion runs off with forty thousand dollars so she can be with her lover, only to be brutally murdered before she finds him.
Emma Bobola
11/12/08
Psycho Film Review
Psycho Under Review
Psycho is a 60s horror film but, because of the ever changing definition it would now be considered more of a bare bones thriller. It begins with a woman named Marion who takes advantage of a situation, handing itself to her, to take a large amount of money so she can be together with her man. She begins in the city, where she works, then proceeds to a long road trip as she makes her escape with forty thousand dollars. On a fluke she lands in a hotel where she is brutally murdered and her sister, boyfriend, and boss are all searching for where she has disappeared to.
The back story of a movie sets up for the climax of the film. Once the border is laid out, the character can then proceed to change as the story continues. The character arc is the change in a character as they leave their comfort zone and adventure into new places. To create more empathy for these characters they need depth. The cast design helps bring out new information about the character. By placing them in situations with different people the director brings out different aspects of their personality which, in turn, fleshes them out.
In many movies the back story takes up a good portion of the movie, usually between a fifth and a half of the movie is taken up just explaining how everything has or will happen. The back story also provides a personality for the characters within the movie. Psycho is shot entirely in the present tense and so, when the movie begins, you see Marion with her boyfriend. This immediately sets up that she is a woman who socializes (she has met someone) and she is passionate. As we progress she is shown as work, where she is submissive to her boss and tolerant of her self-centered but insecure assistant. This sets her up as a hard-working patient woman whose main goals in life are likely the stereotype for young girls; to grow up, get married, have a good job, and have children. So without this back story the viewers would have trouble finding a character arc.
The character arc is the change someone makes within the film as they progress through their journey. Marion, for example, begins as a hard-working woman and, as opportunities arise, she becomes a woman on the run and finally is killed in her attempts. She is given money to put in the bank but instead decides to steal it for her relationship, even though her boyfriend said that when he paid off his debt they could be together. She has changed from truthful and enduring to impatient and insincere. She continues on this path of dishonesty through several tedious trials and finally lands herself in a hotel. Here is where she lets down her guard and allows herself to act as she did before. This costs her life. The character arc of Marion allows the viewer to realize the journey, as it changed the character with whom the watcher is empathizing.
A wide array in the cast is required in movies to create depth to characters. By having them react differently to different people the viewer can understand who the person actually is and begin to feel emotions towards the character. Following Marion again, she meets several very different people on her journey towards freedom. Her boss makes her act submissive, allowing her to see as if is very passive; but, while this is true, she reacts to the other assistant in the office as if she were a child, someone you can acknowledge but do not react to so as not to encourage the unwanted behavior. This makes her seem more authoritative. She also is seen with her boyfriend which makes her seem passionate; but also talking to a policeman, who interrupts her drive, where she acts impassive. To Norman, the owner of the motel she is killed at, she is sympathetic and almost motherly in some instances (she does not tell him that she thinks that stuffing birds is an odd habit though it is clearly shown on her face). The different reactions to these characters help build personalities for people to relate to.
Depth in film makes it more realistic to a watcher and gives dimension to an otherwise stagnant movement. By exploring the personalities before they change you establish an almost real person. Observing the change in them the viewers can begin to feel more as if the person is not caught in time, in a manner of speaking, but changes with it. Interactions with different people and things make them seem as if their story actually happened, creating empathy in the audience. Psycho is a movie that incorporates all of these things but, as previously stated, is very bare minimum. It shows only enough arc to be noticeable. Overall it is a wonderful movie for its time period but one that someone would only tolerate seeing once.
