bragant Review of Frenzy

Frenzy (1972)

Brilliant, Disturbing & Not for the Faint of Heart!

[9/10 · 16 November 2009]

Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate work was both a critical and commercial success on its release, hailed by many as a return to form by the Master of Suspense following the comparative failure of TORN CURTAIN and TOPAZ in the 1960s. Be warned - this is not a film for the faint of heart, and you probably won't want to sit through this more than once, because in this case, once is definitely enough. FRENZY in many ways brings Hitchcock full circle, back to THE LODGER in 1926 - the setting is London and the tale concerns a man falsely accused of murder - but whose suspicious behavior makes him an excellent suspect. Unlike THE LODGER however, our protagonist, Richard Blaney (superbly played by Jon Finch) is one of Hitchcock's least sympathetic central characters. A veteran (of precisely which war is never stated) of the RAF, the down-on-his luck Blaney seems unable to reintegrate himself into civilian life (we might say today that Blaney is obviously suffering from PTSD) with any success. He is highly intelligent, but impatient, rude, aggressive, pride-filled and generally disliked by everyone around him except his current girlfriend, a barmaid called Babs (Anna Massey), and his ex-wife, Brenda (Barbara Leigh-Hunt), who still has a soft spot for him - which will lead to some very unfortunate consequences for them both. The only other friend Blaney has in the world is Bob Rusk (Barry Foster), a Covent Garden greengrocer. Rusk's apparent kindness to his friend, as we shall see, is in fact nothing of the sort...As the story opens, London is being terrorized by a serial killer nicknamed the "Necktie Murderer" for his particular choice of strangulation device. We are led to believe that Blaney is the killer, but this is quickly revealed to be a bit of Hitchcockian misdirection when Brenda Blaney is brutally raped and murdered before our very eyes - by the mild-mannered greengrocer! This particular scene is without doubt the most hideous, ugly scene in any Hitchcock film. Rather than "glamorize" the assault through a fetishized presentation of a beautiful actress in peril (see DIAL M FOR MURDER or PSYCHO), Brenda Blaney's death is presented under flat office lighting and we are forced to endure it in "real time." Afterwards, due to an unfortunate sequence of events, Blaney finds himself arrested and convicted as the "Necktie Murderer," while we of course know him to be innocent. Blaney knows that Rusk is the real murderer, and he breaks out of prison to catch and kill the man who framed him. He is prevented from doing so only by Inspector Oxford (Alec McCowen) of Scotland Yard, who, unbeknownst to Blaney, has been on Rusk's trail for some time. FRENZY disturbs because the "wrongly accused man," is a far from sympathetic character. Blaney is crude, violent and selfish, is certainly capable of murder, and indeed, we see him sink to Rusk's level by the end of the film. On the other hand, the actual killer, like PSYCHO's Norman Bates, seems like a calm, generous man who "loves flowers and fruit," and "has things to give," but is actually a volcano of rage and hate. These complex characterizations leave the viewer in an uneasy frame of mind, as we are forced out of our usual Hollywood good guys-bad guys conditioning to identify with characters who are morally ambiguous, to say the least! The film's treatment of women is also horrifying. The rape-murder of Brenda Blaney is indeed drawn out to a near-excruciating length. The camera dwells on the sight of Brenda's violation and strangling with an unbearable explicitness. Brenda wears a pale green sheath similar to Melanie's dress in THE BIRDS, and it seems that Hitchcock symbolically extinguished the figure of the chilly blonde who preoccupied him for so long. Also, FRENZY makes a constant connection between women, food, sex, filth and pollution that is as repugnant as it is thought-provoking. Look for the perfect comic relief provided by Inspector Oxford's ditzy wife, who serves her husband "gourmet French" meals which are totally inedible! FRENZY fascinates because it is so well-made, so elegantly directed, and so humorous. Our emotions are quite spectacularly manipulated by this film - you will find yourself cringing in revulsion one moment and laughing out loud the next, and this strange dichotomy makes for a - to say the least - unique viewing experience. Special kudos must go to Jean Marsh as Brenda Blaney's secretary - look out for a scene where her powers of recall stun the police, to which she replies, "In my work, I've learnt to keep a sharp eye on men." Hitchcock's eyes were never sharper & at 70-plus, he gave us a film whose dark perspective will haunt your mind and make you wonder whether or not everything we like to tell ourselves about "humanity" is nothing but a bad joke. Watch FRENZY if you can - I dare you!