IMDb plot summary: A shy young English woman marries a charming gentleman, then begins to suspect him of trying to kill her.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Nigel Bruce, and Cedric Hardwicke.
(Definite spoilers about the end of the movie.)
What was a very nice mystery most of the way through falls apart in the final few minutes with an implausible climactic scene. Too bad, because I was really enjoying it up until that point. It has a nice, slow build -- something Hitchcock does very well -- with plenty of suspenseful moments. While Joan Fontaine's character started off a little wimpy, she ended up being fairly resourceful, not the flighty doormat of a character she seemed at the beginning.
I would have liked for the film to be just a few minutes longer to actually have a chance to prove the final revelation was true. As it was, his declaration of innocence seemed unbelievable and I still didn't believe she was out of danger. Still, if you're willing to suspend disbelief at the end, it's a lot of fun. And I do really enjoy the way the movie portrays the last minute -- just the car slowly turning back around. It's got a nice subtlety to it.
3 stars.
Flickchart: #790 out of 2134, below To Sir, With Love and above Smiles of a Summer Night.
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