NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Ultimately the movie is all style and no substance...Or is it?

I've watched North By Northwest several times over the years, but always with a different reaction. Sometimes I think it's brilliant and sophisticated, sometimes I think it's boring and contrived. The thing is that North By Northwest can easily go either way. I could write a snarky review making fun of it, or I could write a sincere review playing up all its excellent qualities. I feel I have no choice but to do both.

Robert Thornhill (Cary Grant) is a suave New York City adman who is kidnapped one day during lunch. Thornhill is so unflappable that he handles the whole ordeal as though it's little more than an irritating inconvenience. When Robert begins to feel he's devoted enough time to the experience, he demands to know what's going on..."not that I mind a slight case of abduction now and then, but I've got tickets to the theater!"

This perfect, famous line describes Robert Thornhill in a nutshell and sets the stage for the rest of the movie. At no point will Mr. Thornhill ever get worked up about anything, and at no point will he ever be at a loss for words. You can frame him for murder, chase him with a crop-duster, run him from one end of the country to the other, and he will never do more than look dapper and put-upon. He will never be at a loss for words because he's got a snappy, tightly-written script to draw from, and he will never break a sweat because he knows that everything works out on the last page. All he has to do is show up.

Even when Thornhill meets the exceedingly flirty and forward Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), he remains unmoved. This isn't to say that he doesn't flirt right back. The dialogue they throw around is nothing short of smoking hot, but our love interests remain cool as cucumbers. Eve is an icy ice queen with about as much sex appeal as an icicle.  Robert is so handsome that it ought to be illegal, but they're so wooden together that it's almost laughable. Robert's hands look weird resting on Eve's hair while he kisses her, and their big make-out moment on a train fold-a-bed amounts to little more than an awkward sideways hug. There's a great deal implied between these two, but regardless of what goes on behind closed doors, their relationship comes across as passionless. 

As the film barrels forward, the plot becomes so complex that you'd have to take notes to follow it properly. As a result, the audience remains removed from the action in much the same way Robert Thornhill does. We appreciate the the witty one liners, the pretty cast, the flirty innuendos, the unexpected twists, and everything in between - we just don't feel it. Ultimately the movie is all style and no substance...Or is it?

Is the dialogue airtight in the manner of Shakespeare? And do we have any right suggesting that it doesn't sound natural when it's so flawlessly eloquent and smart? Are the characters dignified and self-contained rather than stiff and one-dimensional? And is the plot itself so carefully and cleverly crafted that it identifies anyone who can't keep pace as the village idiot? You could make a case for all these things, and it's possible to watch the movie fully believing every one. It all depends on your mood.

DVD NOTES

The 50th Anniversary Edition of North By Northwest comes packed with extras, including the new documentaries The Master Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style and North By Northwest: One for the Ages. Classic extras include screenwriter commentary, a music only track, the 2003 TCM documentary Cary Grant: A Class Apart, and Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North By Northwest hosted by Eva Marie Saint. A photo gallery and a trailer gallery round out the extras.