{"id":10537,"date":"2010-01-23T15:05:08","date_gmt":"2010-01-23T22:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10537"},"modified":"2020-11-24T14:34:02","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T21:34:02","slug":"marnie-1964","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10537","title":{"rendered":"Marnie (1964)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;<em>I&#8217;m<\/em> sick?! Well, take a look at yourself!&#8221;<\/strong> <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Marnie-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Marnie-Poster-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-54495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Marnie-Poster-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Marnie-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Marnie-Poster-176x270.jpg 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Marnie-Poster.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA kleptomaniac (Tippi Hedren) with a troubled past is blackmailed into marrying her new boss (Sean Connery), who is intrigued by her problems and wants to help her recover.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hitchcock Films<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Sean Connery Films<\/li>\n<li>Sexual Repression<\/li>\n<li>Thieves and Criminals<\/li>\n<li>Tippi Hedren Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is clearly a fan of this once-maligned cult &#8220;psychological melodrama&#8221; by Hitchcock. He notes that it &#8220;wasn&#8217;t really appreciated until the seventies, when films were at last being examined in terms of sexual roles and relationships&#8221;, and that it &#8220;remains one of the rare films that allow viewers to be privy to the intimate problems of a married couple&#8221;. He also points out that this was the first (and only) film in which Hitchcock himself &#8220;finally sides with his [notorious icy] blonde.&#8221; Other modern reviewers are less enthusiastic, however, with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1747hitc.html\">DVD Savant arguing<\/a>, for instance, that <em>Marnie<\/em> &#8220;is the Hitchcock movie where everything begins to slip&#8221;: he complains that &#8220;the story is a trite throwback to 1940s faux-psychology&#8221;; that Hitchcock &#8220;skimps on the detail work&#8221; by using egregiously obvious matte paintings and rear-view projections; that Connery and Hedren &#8220;never really click as screen lovers&#8221;; that Hedren isn&#8217;t up to the level of acting required of her; and that &#8220;Marnie&#8217;s childhood trauma is just too pat&#8221;, while &#8220;the whole business of being sent into shock by the color red [is] equally foolish&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>The truth about this undeniably polarizing film probably lies somewhere in between these two sentiments. Yes, Hitchcock&#8217;s use of rear-view projections definitely looks and feels artificial at this point in cinematic history (but would a Hitchcock film be complete without them?). Ultimately, for those who give themselves over to Marnie&#8217;s predicament, and who are willing to accept the inevitable artificialities sprinkled throughout <u>any<\/u> Hitchcock film, <em>Marnie<\/em> eventually becomes (as Peary argues) an absorbing story of psychological sleuthing and marital growth &#8212; a film &#8220;about a woman with many aliases who is involved in a desperate <em>search for identity<\/em>&#8220;. The fact that Connery drolly admits to Marnie that he&#8217;s far from perfect (when she accuses him of being just as screwy as she is) allows us to accept these two individuals as uniquely flawed; and although Connery&#8217;s amateur psychoanalyzing may indeed come across these days as &#8220;too pat&#8221;, we admire his determination to help Marnie, and can&#8217;t help rooting for them as a couple. <\/p>\n<p>While Hedren&#8217;s acting doesn&#8217;t particularly impress during the earlier parts of the film (when her character in general is still a mystery to us), she eventually digs more deeply into her role, allowing us to clearly see Marnie&#8217;s vulnerabilities, and to understand that this is not a woman out to blithely take advantage of men &#8212; she has deep-seated &#8220;reasons&#8221; for acting the way she does. Connery&#8217;s casting is unconventional (and it&#8217;s true, as DVD Savant argues, that we never &#8220;believe that Sean Connery &#8212; looking his 007 best &#8212; is an American businessman&#8221;), but he&#8217;s appealing in an undeniably tricky role; and as Peary notes in his <em>Cult Movies 2<\/em>, the fact that &#8220;James Bond&#8221; &#8212; who&#8217;s &#8220;capable of seducing lesbian Pussy Galore&#8221; &#8212; is unable to seduce his own wife on his honeymoon speaks volumes about the depth of Marnie&#8217;s sexual neuroses. Supporting performances in the film are fine as well, with Louise Latham particularly impressive in a small but important role as Marnie&#8217;s mother &#8212; a woman we want to revile (since she&#8217;s clearly the cause of Marnie&#8217;s miseries) but are ultimately too intrigued by to simply hate. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Watch for Bruce Dern in a tiny role as the key figure in Marnie&#8217;s recurring nightmares (only revealed at the end of the film); 12 years later, Dern would return to star in Hitchcock&#8217;s final film, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7090\"><em>Family Plot<\/em> (1976)<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A fascinating exploration of marital problems and psychological repression<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/marnie-marriage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/marnie-marriage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10540\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Louise Latham as Marnie&#8217;s mother, Bernice<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/marnie-latham.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/marnie-latham.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10541\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bernard Herrmann&#8217;s score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a controversial cult favorite by Hitchcock. Discussed at length in Peary&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=5986\"><em>Cult Movies 2<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#cult\">Cult Movie<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#director\">Important Director<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0058329\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/19882\/marnie#articles-reviews?articleId=18623\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/library\/film\/072364hitch-marnie-review.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1747hitc.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/marnie.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/72864\/marnie.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sick?! Well, take a look at yourself!&#8221; Synopsis: A kleptomaniac (Tippi Hedren) with a troubled past is blackmailed into marrying her new boss (Sean Connery), who is intrigued by her problems and wants to help her recover. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Hitchcock Films Marital Problems Mistaken or Hidden Identities Sean Connery Films Sexual Repression Thieves and Criminals Tippi Hedren Films Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary is clearly a fan of this once-maligned cult &#8220;psychological melodrama&#8221; by Hitchcock. He&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10537\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10537"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54497,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions\/54497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}