This late Hitchcock psychodrama about a beautiful kleptomaniac (Tippi Hedrin) and the wealthy man who is obsessed with her (Sean Connery) is a bit thin dramatically, and slower paced than his best movies. In fact it is closer to a psychiatric case study than a thriller. But Hitchcock more than makes up for that with his masterful direction. What is most striking about it is his dramatic use of extreme closeups, deft camera movements, effective blackouts between scenes, and deliberately artificial backdrops and rear screen projections that have an expressionistic effect. Amateur psychologists will have a field day with the symbolism (how about that vault!) and with the causes for Marnie's various neuroses and psychoses (such as frigidity and kleptomania). Also interesting is Connery's bizarre fetish for the klepto Hedrin that is reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart's fetish for the dead Kim Novak in "Vertigo." In short, this movie has dramatic flaws, but it is thematically intriguing and cinematically dazzling. (A bonus is the excellent, atmospheric score by Bernhard Herrmann.)
