North By Northwest (1959) ★★★★

I'm still coming down from how exuberant I feel after viewing this great piece of cinematic history. North By Northwest might very well be one of the best films I've ever seen. The film is nearly flawless from start to finish, Hitchcock grabbing your attention not three minutes into the picture with Roger Thornhill(Cary Grant) a madison avenue advertising executive, being kidnapped by a pair of men and not told what they want with him. He is delivered to a mansion outside of the city where what appears to be a wealthy man(James Mason) tells him he is some kind of agency operative. At this point Roger tells the man at great length he is mistaken and has no idea what he is talking about, which of course devolves into disbelief and disregard for his "story". The plot that continues is winding and convoluted, though Hitchcock expertly shows a firm grasp on his storytelling abilities juggling multiple characters, events, and narratives. The plot of North By Northwest weaves us from New York to Chicago to Indiana to South Dakota, ending at Mount Rushmore. The one classic scene that stand out in terms of cinematography and reference points for cinephiles, the crop dusting plane in the field in Indiana. The plane running down Cary Grant, we feel the doom closing in, and the hopeless dread.
















North By Northwest is a very suspenseful, mysterious, and engaging thriller in the first 40 to 45 minutes, all the way up to Roger getting on a train to Chicago where we meet Eve Kendall(Eva Marie Saint). This is where the tone and atmosphere changes and as their scene continues together, we're sucked in by the romance, the melancholy of the violin score, soaring and taking us with it. It's so moving and beautiful that we almost forget how much of a wanted man our protagonist is, we truly forget. Though as in any suspenseful thriller nothing is what it seems and the film seems to borrow quite a bit from noir. And then we are pulled back into the conspiracy of the plot, that the men chasing Roger, Phillip Vandamme(Mason) and Vincent(a very young Martin Landau) are secret operatives of nefarious means and that the identity of the man they're after is a red herring and he's now caught in the middle. Believing he is a secret opposing operative named Caplan they continuously hunt Roger with several assassination attempts being unsuccessful. Playing the female lead Eve Marie Saint was absolutely wonderful in her role as Eve Kendall playing a double agent that Roger doesn't find out until the last act. Their romance complicated but poignant, reaching a level that makes her question her own objectives. She plays a conflicted, warm, and witty young woman caught in the middle of this clustered web of deceit and misinformation. The note of sadness and melancholy below the surface is truly stunning. 

This is one of those films that is on everyone's list and actually lives up to the classic film hype. It's suspenseful, mysterious, exciting, adventurous, romantic, beautiful, and has absolutely breathtaking cinematography and visuals. Some of the shots even by today's standards are just phenomenal, the entire end with Mount Rushmore and having a daring cliffhanging action climax. Shooting the plane running down Cary Grant in the field in Indiana. The film has an even keel all the way through keeping the audience engaged and captivated. The romantic/love scenes between Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint are absolutely wonderful as I spoke to earlier in the review, so much so that they literally take you away from the anxiety and fear of the ongoing plot. But even as you are taken away, events are in motion and nothing has stopped you've been merely looking in the other direction. Such is the skill of a great director, much like a magician. And even though they are tricks, they are beautifully done and executed with precision. This is Hitchcock's third film in a series that I call his obsession films. Dial M For Murder, North By Northwest, and Vertigo all deal with obsession and specifically romantic obsession. I can't tell you how good it felt seeing Roger pull up Even Marie Saint and fall back onto the train car bed, heading for that happy ending. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't speak to how iconic Cary Grant's performance as Roger Thornhill truly was. I kept seeing Don Draper, and as a huge fan of the TV series Mad Men, I really took notice. The gray flannel suit, the haircut, the look. Not to mention the madison ave advertising executive occupation, it was really great to see where some of Matt Weiner's influence originated. What is so impressive about Grant's performance is half of his acting is done with his face, reacting, reflecting, thinking and observing having just the slightest movement in his forehead, nose, or the twitch of a brow. It's pretty incredible to see and take in, the kind of attention and ability to lose yourself in a character. He's a twice divorced bore of a man who just so happens to reach through to a double agent femme fatale, and as crazy as all that sounds, as ridiculous of a premise, Hitchcock brilliantly weaves the story for us. It is truly a beautiful thing to see, and probably why it is still considered one of the greatest films of all time. Iconic performances, excellent direction, phenomenal editing and cinematography, North By Northwest absolutely exceeds all expectations from the viewer and makes you wonder where you've been the last 136 minutes.