Although it is being pushed as heady Oscar fare, Hitchcock is a little too bizarre and too goofy to find itself seriously in the running for Best Picture. I’m not complaining; I am a fan of bizarre, goofy movies. As this film explores the making of Psycho—Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest risk as a filmmaker—Hitchcock takes a few enjoyable diversions. It contains a blast of a performance from Anthony Hopkins as Hitch, with Helen Mirren perhaps outpacing him as Hitchcock’s wife, Alma Reville. The film has a surface sheen to it, seemingly placing more of an emphasis on Alma’s possible love affair with a fellow writer (Danny Huston) than on the making of Psycho. Still, when it’s dealing with Psycho and the mechanics of making a movie, Hitchcock is a lot of fun.