Review of Blackmail

It's an art film by todays standards. But it's also classic Hitchcock. Not only does it build suspense, which for a film of this time seems hard to do through the typical camera distance and theatrical acting which this film has plenty of, but still Hitchcock does it and does it well. It begins as a silent film as we watch an arrest take place. This arrest feels out of place because it doesn't tie into the story. But it leads into an atmosphere of conviction and guilt. This is the films opening. The first dialogue scene occurs in a stylized way, by todays standards, as we follow two detectives walking, one Frank Webber, as they joke around. There are many shots where the camera sits, static, displaying a nice composition, as action happens, dialogue and story unfold. And in between these shots are shots of faces reacting, which incites more psychological participation in the viewer, a very Hitchcock device. The characters feelings, uneasiness, a general tension, become more subjective, not just something we figure we are suppose to get. We actually feel it. Actually, I was very surprised to hear Blackmail is from 1929. Sure it has many technical errors, jump cuts, sounds glitches, and lighting changes, overplayed acting, yet all this aside the story progresses very realistically and sadistically on the part of the guilty lead actress and her mate which in the end feels all very current. I figured this film was from the late 30's if not 40's. The film ends with a kind of uneasiness as we are left with two guilty characters, more so the female lead, who we can imagine will have trouble coping with her conscience. And that is the irony, because after all they are free, and convicted of nothing. But in this case free to dwell in their quiet guilt seems a very harsh punishment filled with more suffering than any jail could provide. In all, a great film to see.