North By Northwest

When it’s said that everyone should see this film once. there is a reason! It might not be seem hugely original or unique to have an ordinary guy stuck in extraordinary circumstances through fluky coincidences, recent releases ‘The Tourist’ or ‘Bourne Trilogy’ come to mind, but this is one of the first and best uses of that set-up.  Greatly helped by Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and Alfred Hitchcock this blows all other espionage thrillers out of the water.

The plot is light on complexity, with Roger Thornhill (Grant) being mistaken for George Kaplan, a man wanted dead by Phillip Vandamm (played by James Mason). The lead up to this mistaken identity happens in small steps, but done with great comical flare that reminds me of Shakespearean comedies such as ‘A Comedy of Errors’.  After a run in with Vandamm’s men, Thornhill tries to track down Kaplan and get some answers. Then on the train, in a scene everyone will recognise, Thornhill meets Eve Kendall (Saint), the blonde femme fatal that takes a little bit too much interest in him and puts a spanner in the works. The film is incredibly fast paced and every scene is about moving the plot forwards, which leaves little room for any characterisation. Back in 1959 that would not have been much of a problem, but modern audiences have a problem with films that are light on plot and depths. Films that mimic this formula, such as ‘The Tourist’ or the later Ocean’s films, are ripped apart because they lack anything beneath their shiny exterior. It seems that modern audiences like to know a bit more about the characters and so some might find this a little bit silly and empty to watch.

Saying all that Cary Grant plays his character fantastically well. Off screen his life might have been full of the sort of drama that keep editors of ‘Heat’ and ‘US Weekly’ happy, but on screen he portrays the ‘every man’ perfectly. A modern equivalent would be the bumbling Hugh Grant, as he has both the charm and the good looks; the same cannot be said for Johnny Depp’s  ‘every man’ (again in ‘The Tourist’-the parallels are so similar it is almost breaching copyright) who lacks both the conventional looks and the charm to pull it off. A problem with Cary Grant’s performance is the pace he delivers his lines. The dialogue flies thick and fast so that modern audiences might have difficulty keeping up and so will miss out on some of the clever lines. However, once you get used to the pace you can appreciate the witty and clever banter that occurs between the characters; it is the kind of script that likely inspired Aaron Sorkin, the writer of ‘The West Wing’ and ‘The Social Network’.

The other actor to comment on is Eva Marie Saint who plays the cold and mysterious Eve Kendall. Kendall is a great female part, one that is in control, dominant and opinionated. The flirting between Thornhill and Kendall is certainly led by her, a dynamic that is great to watch on screen. It is also a relationship that was not seen in similar films such as James Bond which still had the females act as damsels in distress.

The greatest thing about this film, and the reason that everyone must go and see it, is because of its importance to modern pop culture. Different scenes from the film have been recycled over and over again. The opening credits (Buried and The Tourist); the chemistry on the train (Casino Royale); the line ‘Beats flying, doesn’t it?’ (Virgin Trains advert); the plane flying across a corn field (The Simpson episode ‘Fear of Flying’); and the conflict on Mount Rushmore (Family Guy episode ‘North by North Quahog’). All these scenes stem from the iconic ones found in ‘North by Northwest’. In fact the last two examples are especially fantastic scenes if you remember that they were shot with no CGI. A real plane was used and a life-size model of Mount Rushmore was constructed all for the sake of realism.

‘North by Northwest’ is undeniably a classic and one of the most successful films of its type. Some modern audiences might not like the dated style of filming, but everyone should definitely see it to find the sources of many pop culture references.

Degree- 2:1

A fun, clever film that delivers what few films have

been able to since. A classic in every sense of the word

and one that has greatly influenced modern pop culture

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