Notorious Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Notorious
Year: 1946
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: US
Language: English

Alfred Hitchcock was a Director that could make great films regardless of how much time had passed. Each decade he worked he would create a masterpiece. In the 30's it was The 39 Steps, in the 40s it was Notorious, in the 50s it was Vertigo, and in the 60s it was Psycho. He was also capable of working with Hollywood's biggest stars of the time. Notorious features two of Hollywood's greatest; Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

Following the conviction of her German father for treason against the U.S., Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) takes to drink and men. She is approached by a government agent  (Cary Grant) who asks her to spy on a group of her father's Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Janeiro. A romance develops between Alicia and Devlin, but she starts to get too involved in her work

Famed French Director Francois Truffaut cites Notorious as the single work that provides the fullest representation of Hitchcock’s art. Critic Roger Ebert claimed that the picture "is the most elegant expression of the master's visual style". Indeed it is quite spectacular; not a single shot is wasted and, due to photographer Ted Tetzlaff, each scene is rich in expression and beauty. The passion and perversity of the situation takes our breath away. Though the Hays Code strictly regulated onscreen sexuality, Hitchcock was smart enough to skirt around this with subtle dialogue and innuendo. We do not see the sex, but there is no doubt that it happens.

Notorious has aged well; the romantic triangle between Alicia, Devlin and the Nazi Spy Sebastian (Claude Rains) is still incredibly suspenseful. We hope for a fairy-tale ending, but Hitchcock never guarantees that it will happen. The most exemplary quality of this film, even more-so than the technical mastery, is its acknowledgement that the capacity for inhumanity is not exclusive to Nazis or various other villains which we are told are fundamentally different from us. Indeed it's quite worrisome, however Notorious has a hint of optimism that vanished from the Hitchcock picture as early as 1948's Rope. 

In conclusion, while Psycho was the first Hitchcock I had seen, Notorious is the first Hitchcock that made me take great interest in the "Master of Suspense". It is brilliantly crafted; a film with romance that isn't necessarily "romantic". A film which shows that  love is difficult, love is sacrifice, and explains that fact in an absolutely shocking way. Praise it! 5/5