When you reach the finish line of Alfred Hitchcock's often disarming yet somewhat compelling "Suspicion," you realize that the finish is not sound. It is not an ending that makes sense and can lessen what has preceded it. Still, it is quite something to see how it ends, if for no other reason than the subtle touch sprinkled on it.
Joan Fontaine is the spinsterish Lina, who reads Child Psychology books and perhaps yearns for a responsible adult man. That man might be Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant), a rakish playboy of sorts whom right from the start we know he's either irresponsible with money or doesn't have any. They meet on a train, which should spell trouble in a Hitchcock film, and he's already asking for some money from a complete stranger since he's riding first class, not third as indicated on his ticket. When they see each other again, there is already friction as he grabs her wrists ("I am not trying to kill you.") Next time out, they are dancing at a ball, presumably because Lina overhears her parents' concern about her being a spinster - she wants to show she can get a man and who better than this Johnnie.
What is fascinating is how Johnnie is told by friends not to pursue Lina. Lina, in turn, is told not to pursue Johnnie since he wants her fortune (which she doesn't have). Once they are married and live in a luxurious home with a maid, trouble spews due to Johnny not having any job or any finances. This man owes money and, slowly but surely, we discover along with Lina that Johnnie is a fraud - a likable fraud but a fraud nonetheless. But is he a potential murderer? And his potential business partner, the jovial Beaky Thwaite (Nigel Bruce), may be in danger with Johnnie. Of course, these are all suspicions on the part of Lina. Are they unfounded and simply delusional suspicions?
RKO studio preferred the latter explanation as the ending was hastily changed because they presumed the audience wouldn't want to see Grant as a charming killer (I guess if Richard Widmark had been cast, the darker ending would've stuck). Grant had already proven to the most likable and charming romantic lead in movies like "The Philadelphia Story," "Gunga Din," "His Girl Friday" and "Topper" so a murderer was not in the cards. Yet watching Cary Grant and his implied dialogue exchanges, not to mention his rough handling of Lina in certain key points of the film, point towards the inevitable. Director Quentin Tarantino offered his opinion recently on the ending of "Suspicion" suggesting that Johnnie might be the killer because of the creepy manner in which he puts his arm around Lina as they drive back to their home. I certainly sense that - Hitchcock has often suggested more than meets the eye. "Suspicion" is not remarkable Hitchcock but it is often startling and watchable because you keep thinking that Johnnie is the killer. Even if the ending offers excuses to suggest it was all in Lina's head, we know it might not be.
No comments:
Post a Comment