The Plot of Psycho
The film tells the story of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who steals the money of a wealthy customer with the intention of using it to fund a marriage to Sam Loomis (John Gavin). On her way to meet Sam, she stops at the Bates' motel and meets the lonely owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). She has dinner with Norman, who discloses that he lives with his mentally ill mother. While taking a shower in her room, Marion is murdered in one of the most famous scenes in cinema history. It is made clear that the unseen mother is behind the murder but Norman covers it up to protect her. Meanwhile Marion's sister grows worried about her absence and uses the private detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam) to locate her. He searches motels in the area and eventually arrives at the Bates' Motel where he is greeted by Norman. It is at this point comes the scene that I have selected to analyse.
Why Anthony Perkins in Psycho?
Psycho is one of my all time favourite films due to its masterful use of suspense and a chilling story (its also one of Hitch's many masterpieces). The film is carried by Hitch's supreme directorial talent and the captivating, almost-everyman, performance that is given by Anthony Perkins. For these reasons I have chosen this performance to analyse.
The five-minute segment of Perkins' spellbinding performance that I have chosen is linked below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw6n3Hqm2zY
At the start of the clip we see Bates' reclining casually in a rocking chair reading a newspaper and eating candy. This subtle positioning of the character gives Bates' the appearance of an everyday man while the use of the rocking chair suggests his unstable mental state. This tease at his psyche provides the audience with a cunning glimmer of the twist that is to come at the end of the film (SPOILER: that Bates' mother is actually dead and he is really dressing as her and killing the victims himself, due to a mental illness of his own - should you ever see the film you will see that this is all explained in a 10 minute bore-a-thon by some random psychologist [this part of the film should be fast forwarded, if not removed all together]).
Bates is positioned to the left of the frame and is cast largely in shadow. Again, this implies his villianous nature while providing a stark contrast with his large puppy-dog eyes and innocent facial expressions. The fact that Bates so casually reclines in this chair also starks a contrast to an earlier scene in the film in which he nervously watched as he disposed of Marion's car and body into a swamp.
Perkins continually maintains eye contact with Balsam during the dialogue, which serves to create an intimidating and threatening sense to the scene (it also implies that perhaps Arbogast might end up in a similar state as Marion as Bates sets his sight on the next victim). Occasionally, however, Perkins does glance in another direction, but only for a brief few seconds (it could be connoted from this, the subtle paranoia Bates' suffers from, but also that he is more on edge than he might seem).
Bates makes a polite conversation, as he had done with Marion, but asks almost too many questions while opening the cupboard doors and fetching items (this could further imply his on edge nature giving the character an extra depth and showing that Perkins fully inhabited the murderer's mind).As Arbogast begins to question Bates about Marion's disappearance, Bates' uneasy laugh (almost a quick giggle in places) becomes out of place and all the more frequent. Clearly, Perkins is trying to show Bates' difficulty maintaining his calm. Perkins hesitates subtly when offered the photo of Marion and it is only when he is forced into taking it, does he snatch it away. He holds the photo close to his face and silently looks at it for a few seconds before glancing back up and saying that he does not recognize her. Bates' lie is almost obvious and as he utters "mmm" it is obvious that his friendly disposition has vanished and that the character is getting closer to breaking. His smile begins to fade more and more, also and only appears when Bates' makes another uncomfortable effort at conversation.
Throughout the scene, Perkins' sports a dark jumper with a prominent collar (underneath this collar there is a barely visible white shirt). The symbolism of these colours suggests that while Norman is a dark and villainous character, his infrequent innocence often shines through and gives a glimpse at the man that could've been. Here, pity is evoked for the character, even though it could be argued that there should be no pity for him at all.
The camera mimics the audience throughout the scene as it is at first at Bates' eyeline and encompasses most of his body (thus conveying how the audience is comfortable with him at first), but then moves to a closer, lowerer angle that looks up at his face. These close ups show Bates' in a dark, threatening light and make looking at him uncomfortable for the audience (even on a computer screen as opposed to the larger cinema screens).
Bates' dialogue also offers a glimpse into his character as the scene wears on. Early on in the scene, it is noted that Perkins chose to hestitate on his deliver of the line "its such a....I dont know....creepy smell". This hesitation makes the audience feel less at ease with the motel owner and conveys a hidden aspect to him, that the audience are yet to see.
A sadistic side is also shown to Bates, as the camera tightens in on his face (which is littered with shadows) he comments that Marion left "oh..tsk...very early". Here he mockingly hints at her murder and the stutter that fills the gap between the question, and answer shows more and more how Bates is cracking under Arbogast's gentle pressure.
It could also be stated that, Perkins often tilts Bates' head at unnatural angles during the scene, maybe showing how he can loom menacingly over someone but as well that he cowers away from them. The various tilts also connote insanity.For the first time in the scene, at around 4 minutes in, Bates is begin to convey signs as having been completely rumbled. He moves his hand to his first for the first time and moves his eyeline around the room, almost as if he scared of Balsam's character.
At the end of my chosen clip, there comes an uneasy silence as Bates has exhausted his information on Marion and slowly coughs, followed by the line of dialogue (which features the occasional, still pressured stutter) "well, Mr Arbogast, I guess thats about it". As he speaks this line, Perkins employs a large grin on his face as if he has beaten Arbogast.
Perhaps Arbogast has seen through this uncomfortably, boyish motel owner, however, who seems to have something to hide. But surely he wouldn't even harm a fly?
