The Girl

2012 "He made her his star. And his darkest obsession."
6.2| 1h31m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 22 October 2012 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Director Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the greatest creative minds in the history of cinema. Known for his psychological thrillers, Hitchcock’s leading ladies were cool, beautiful and preferably blonde. One such actress was Tippi Hedren, an unknown fashion model given her big break when Hitchcock’s wife saw her on a TV commercial. Brought to Universal Studios, Hedren was shocked when the director, at the peak of his career, quickly cast her to star in his next feature, 1963’s The Birds. Little did Hedren know that as ambitious and terrifying as the production would be to shoot, the most daunting aspect of the film ended up coming from behind the camera.

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Reviews

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Michel Couzijn Because a vote of 1 means 'awful' in IMDb terms, and because I find this movie actually 'awful', I cannot but give it a vote of 1.Which is a shame, really, because if this movie had been purely fictional, it would have been a decent film with an interesting, albeit somewhat weird plot, and a screenplay that left something to desire. I might have given it a '5' then.But the fact is that the makers of, and contributors to this movie knew full well, as does their audience, that the premise of this movie is decidedly NOT fictional, but envisions to portray 'real life events'. Here starts the 'awful' feeling for me.At the end of the day, there is not a shred of proof that the events as displayed in this movie actually happened. And the makers know that. It is not just a case of 'personal opinion', like it is not a case of 'personal opinion' whether Kennedy was murdered, or that Harvey Weinstein attempted to take advantage of young actresses.By portraying Alfred Hitchcock in this sensationalist light, and making bucks out of it, the makers deliberately hurt the memory of a man who is not around to protest anymore. The makers should have asked themselves: would we dare to make this movie, in this way, had the man been still alive? Would the evidence weigh up to the doubt and the protest? And they would have concluded that it wouldn't. The fact that they dared make this movie now Hitch is dead, shows a cowardly attitude behind it.Why then, you ask me, is it unlikely that the events portrayed in the movie ever happened? For starters: because the many, many people who were around at the time vehemently deny any misbehavior ever happened, and just as vehemently assert that these events were *very* unlikely to happen with the Hitchcock they knew. The other actors, the other set personnel, the people close to Hitch, Mrs. Hedren's assistants, no one ever came to the fore with anything substantial that corroborates Hedren's story; instead they deny it, or at least deem it unlikely it happened without them noticing it.Second, Hedren kept her mouth shut for many decades. That would be somewhat credible if during that time, she hadn't given such praise and devoted such warm words to her experience with Hitchcock in the mean time - which she did. It was only at the end of her career, which was not particularly successful, and only after Hitchcock was dead & gone, and only after Donald Spoto interviewed her for his Hichcock biography, that she told this narrative of an 'abusive' Hitchcock. As if she needed a reason why her career post-Hitchcock never took off - a reason outside of herself.Thirdly, because there is ample material evidence that refute important elements in Hedren's narrative. There is a trainload of contemporary documentation (business correspondence, personal letters, media publications) that prove Hedren's memory wrong. You can get a good taste of that on the website SaveHitchcock.com, which attempts to provide objective information about the actual events. Here is a good place to start: a rebuttal to Hedren's recently published Memoirs: https://savehitchcock.com/2016/10/19/tippi-a-memoir/ In sum, this movie is a cowardly attempt to discredit and vilify a great director and a great personality, who is vulnerable because he cannot defend himself from accusations of sexual predatorism, which are based on hearsay from exactly one source.I don't find it troubling that a single disappointed actor (Hedren) at a certain point in her life chose to follow this path; she is the only one to know her reasons for it, and whether they are honest or not. Yet I do find it disappointing that a large group of professionals in the movie industry chose to make money from trampling on someone's corpse by making this very one-sided movie. And most of all I find it troubling that the American audience seems to love it, falls for this manipulation of history, and appears to embrace this sensationalist story with a vengeance.I am glad that Hitch is not around anymore to live through this totally undeserved character assassination.
Prismark10 Alfred Hitchcock was a rightly admired director and the master of suspense.His filmography also shows that he had several actors that regularly appeared in his movies such as Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, James Stewart etc.The Girl is a television movie that depicts a harrowing working relationship between Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones) and Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller) while making the films The Bird and Marnie.The problem is what is presented as the truth is really a fictional account with the spin that Tippi Hedren is still alive to embellish actual events.Here we have Hitchcock falling for the nubile, young starlet and making her life hell on the film set especially after he feels rejected by her. Hedren later complained that Hitchcock ruined her promising film career.Toby Jones to me does not quiet cut it as Hitchcock in his look and voice. It is as interpretation he is giving and that is of a man who is obsessed, slightly perverted and deranged.I was more impressed by Sienna Miller as Hedren who plays the role as the classic blonde that Hitchcock liked to have in his films.The film leaves a sour taste behind with what is a character assassination of a respected but difficult director three decades after he died.
phd_travel This TV movie looks at Alfred Hitchcock's obsession with Tippi Hedren during the making of the Birds.This is quite fascinating compared to the film "Hitchcock" starring Anthony Hopkins. It shows Hitchcock's obsession with his leading ladies in a more predatory abusive nature than the Hopkins movie. Wonder which is closer to the truth? Sienna Miller doesn't look much like Tippi - she has a harder look but she does a good job. Toby looks more like Hitch than Anthony Hopkins.Watch "The Birds" first and then watch this. The peek a the behind the scenes creative process is fascinating for Hitchcock fans.
demetrius11 Alfred Hitchcock is a brilliant artist well deserving of the recognition he received for his movies. Having read a dozen books on his life and work, I know he got over-excited with blonds, but I have never read that he was a half-mad rapist wannabe. This is how this libelous film depicts that master of suspense. For some reason the creator of this movie decided to present the -average- Tippi Hedren as a heroine, and the -amazing- Hitch as a villainous director who tries to use the "poor girl" as a sex slave. I find that a film like this insults the memory of a person who is not present to defend his honor and reputation. Unless the creators of this movie can present testimonies that incriminate the deceased beyond any doubt, I can not see how they can make such a film with no consequences. The reason that I rated this with a 3 instead of a 1, is because the actors are very good (much better that the recent "Hitchcock" with Anthony Hopkins), and the direction is also quite good !