Marnie(1964)

I have seen movies which are both dramas and thrillers, but this is the movie which has a perfect fusion of both the genres. It is a shame that this Hitchcock masterpiece is so goddamn underrated. Marnie is one of the best thrillers where the outcome of situations aren't a matter of life and death, but puts you on the edge of the seat since we care so much about because of our involvement with the leads. Hitchcock always has a thing for complex female characters, isn't he?

Marnie is about the titular character who is a compulsive thief, who joins unsuspecting offices as a clerk and steals the money from their lockers. But she has a mystery in her past which makes repulsive against men and the color of red. Mark Rutland(Sean Connery) is a wealthy businessman, who unraveling her identity uses it to blackmail to marry him, as he wants to "cure" her. What follows is a one-on-one game against both to stay on top of the situation.

Marnie is probably the most thrilling Hitchcock movie only next to Rope. As much it is interested in Marnie, it is also very keen in observing Mark's compulsiveness to Marnie. Again like Vertigo, we have a male-female relationship where the female is a weirdo and the male is obsessive about her. So what we have is a power game between abnormal human beings and its keep you on the edge expecting who is going to snap out of their control.

In spite of all the greatness, the movie is pretty badly made in use of color, fake sets, doubles etc. And that is a big aberration when we compare Hitchcock's other movies. And the standard trait of Hitchcock movies, which is the final explanatory act is present here as in Psycho or Rope. Similar to the other two movies, it belittles the complexity of the situation and reduces the overall effect. Just like how kurosawa gets philosophical in his climaxes, Hitchcock wants to explain the whys and hows towards the end. But otherwise, Marnie is a roller coaster ride and a more accomplished work than Psycho, though not even half as popular than that.