Strangers on a Train

Title: Strangers on a Train
Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller
Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker
Director: Alfred Hitchcock

It would appear as though I am committing some form of critic’s blasphemy, starting my first foray into the work of one of the most celebrated directors of all time – with one of his most renowned films no less – and the result is one of mild bewilderment. If this is what can be expected of his greatest accomplishments, then I dread to think what one of his worst films would have presented me for whilst certainly not a dire effort by any stretch of the imagination, it would appear his reputation as a master of cinema comes as more than a little unfounded.

With a superb script formed from a novel by “Patricia Highsmith,” the simplicity of the proceedings proves to be its greatest strength; following the two lead roles from the first meeting all the way to the bitter end, it is the crazy idea of one Bruno Anthony (Walker) – a man desperately looking for a way to end the life of his father – to trade murders with another so as to give no motive connecting them to the crimes. Dismissed out of hand by the tennis star Guy Haines (Granger), he humours the mans ridiculous notion of killing his troublesome wife in return and returns to his illegitimate lover only to quickly discover that Bruno has already carried out his portion of the plan. Failing to turn to the police for fear of being convicted he begins to wrestle with his conscience, all the time under mental attack by the ever more aggravated Bruno demanding his recompense.

The popular opinion of Walker’s prowess is in this case no hyperbole brought on after his untimely death just a few months after this films release but a fully justified criticism, as this isn’t some overplayed obvious character; there isn’t a single dimension to his personality which makes him appear to be the ruthless, cold and calculating man presented, but rather something far more subtle that makes him all the more dangerous. It’s as though there is a veil of deception to his actions that only the audience – learning his capabilities early on – are capable of seeing through, the ever broadening cracks giving glimpses of the methodical and sadistic character that lies beneath, and this altogether realistic and frighteningly believable character is the linchpin by with this film is held.

It’s hence unfortunate that the rest of the cast failed to meet the bar already set, with Granger’s performance failing to demonstrate any real form of emotion with his rigid posture and wooden facial expressions. The rest of the supporting cast do little to assist in the matter either, often acting as though mere puppets with Hitchcock pulling the strings, forcing them into rigid and unnatural positions so as to follow the script as opposed to allowing the natural physicality of the character already developed to flourish. The scenes with Walker’s absence as a result often descend into an exercise in tediousness, the tennis scene in particular placed in a position where a slow build to the denouement should be taking place yet instead brings down the entire film with an example of an unnecessarily long passage, and it’s only with a strong reliance on the dialogue – and more specifically what as opposed to how it is said – that the film manages to function and flow continuously.

The finalé too was something of a disappointment, the ease at which people seem to be deluded into mistaking brilliance for special effects work as rife here as it still is today. Now don’t mistake me for knocking the effects themselves; in a time well before CGI when everything had to be performed mechanically, the manner things was handled and performed shows nothing if not a willing to push the limits of what was feasible, but it was the actual script itself that proved the problem, seeming to be more interested in the style over the substance. The fact that the police killed an innocent man by shooting wildly into a crowd, a fact which was then promptly ignored as though nobody cared for his tragic loss of life, heavily detracting from what would have otherwise been a fitting end.

Perhaps slightly oddly, despite my disappointment here, it hasn’t dented by expectations of this director’s other work. There are after all many elements that go into creating an effective piece of cinema and the actual direction; the manner scenes were shot and pieced together to provide a mood, a constant atmospheric tension looming over and slowly rising with each carefully calculated scene, it all shows a level of competency few are capable of demonstrating. The end result is simply an uphill battle against the apathetic and at times melodramatic cast, and is sadly this films Achilles heel.