Delayed Reaction: Dial M For Murder

Premise: A man plans the perfect murder of his wife and has to scramble to adjust as things go wrong.

 

Because I'm lazy, just going to break this into 3 main points.

 

1) This feels stagy. I wasn't as bothered by the staginess as I am with some adaptations with bigger, more obvious performances, but I could certainly tell this was based on a play. The fact that it's almost entirely set at the apartment gives that away. I didn't mind it that much since the screenplay does most of the heavy lifting.

 

2) We just know too much about police work now. Every part of this investigation would be shot down in court. The evidence is all very flimsy. I'm happy to go with it because this was 60 years ago and it is a movie. However, it sure is hard to look at this with a modern lens. I find it funny how mystery movies have evolved over the years as audiences have gotten smarter. As a piece of theater, the crime, cover up, and how the detective solves it as all very exciting. I love the bravado of telling the audience exactly what will happen ahead of time. First, the husband explains the crime. Then, the friend explains how things could go wrong. Finally, the friend comes up with the exact coverup plot as a hypothetical. The fact that Hitchcock still makes it exciting to watch says volumes about the screenplay and his direction.

 

3) For someone so praised, Hitchcock sure does make a lot of simple movies. I agree that Alfred Hitchcock is one of the great directors, but he sure does have a lot of movies that feel more like curios than films. Rope, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder are all almost entirely set in a single location and are mostly just discussion. He has more ambitious films too, but Hitchcock's legacy is more in volume of quality films than having a handful of masterpieces. Granted, the Vertigo, Rear Window, and North by Northwest acolytes would dispute that claim.

 

So, excellent movie with some understandable limitations that are in its DNA. And I've never respected a movie more than when this 1h45m movie paused for an intermission.

Verdict: Strongly Recommend