I don't understand how the audience is supposed to side with and feel sympathetic towards Charlotte when she basically c
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novastar_6 — 11 years ago(June 03, 2014 10:07 PM)
Agreed, amy, there's a reason why this was Hitchcock's favorite of his own movies. This was one that COULD happen anywhere in smalltown USA, it had merit, it had credibility, it was believable, it touched on something real, every serial killer has a family out there, who usually has no idea what he's doing.
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amyghost — 11 years ago(June 04, 2014 03:48 AM)
Exactly. It's why the film remains as great as it is seventy years laterit's entirely believeable in its setup and, most importantly, in the psychological truth of its characters and their actions/reactions.
Most people don't behave in the way that a 'rational' plotline would dictate when faced with extraordinary situations; they dissemble, they hide the truth from themselves, they make excuses. And they look for a way to keep from having to face the ultimate grim reality.
Charlie doesn't want to believe, and even when she's forced to, she doesn't want to act to bring about the awful end she knows will come of it. She only finally does so when her own life is endangered and even then, it's partly through accident that she manages to act in a way to save herself and her family. -
LukeLovesFilm28 — 11 years ago(June 16, 2014 05:15 PM)
Family is family. I don't give a sh!t if they murder someone outside of the family or even inside the family. It's a tough decision to throw family members to the wolves especially if the wolves are fcking cops you don't know. Yes, Charles was a freak and an a$$, but honestly, people today have lost all sense of loyalty and respect toward their family member, especially male family members in favor of some fcking strangers. If I get murdered by someone, I do want them to have some loyalty and respect for themselves enough to have some principles and some brains.
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disinterested_spectator — 11 years ago(December 27, 2014 06:52 PM)
Young Charlie believes that she and her uncle are very much alike. But if she is right, then she has a dark side too. She is willing to let her uncle leave town, even though she can see who the next victim will be, thereby making her an accomplice. She tells her uncle at one point that she wants to kill him. And she does.
In other words, just as a nice town like the one Charlie lives in can have evil hidden within, so too can a nice girl like Charlie have evil hidden within. -
lubin-freddy — 11 years ago(February 01, 2015 05:49 AM)
Hitchcock, when asked "why didn't they just go to the police" (in general) would answer: "Because then the movie would be boring".
Case in point -
Psycho
. The moment "they" go to the police, the whole movie pretty much grinds to a halt, and barely recovers near the end.
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools. -
blanche-2 — 11 years ago(March 01, 2015 01:28 AM)
I agree with what most of you have said - this is a character-driven psychological story. Charlie knows her mother wouldn't be just disappointed she'd be shattered! And you see how protective of her mother she is throughout the film.
You don't just find out or suspect your uncle, someone you love, is a killer, and just call the cops. First you don't want to believe it, then once you accept it, you have to have time to work it through, just as has been mentioned.
I don't believe Charlie really
wanted
someone else arrested, or for her uncle to kill again. I just think she wants her uncle gone. The detectives tell her to get him to leave town, so they can arrest him, and she says, "I'd hate for anything to happen
here
." He also threatens the family, asking her what would happen to her mother, and to her father's job if he were found out. She says, "I know I can't tell them," or words to that effect. -
ilovemyrv — 9 years ago(May 31, 2016 07:05 AM)
While I agree with all of the reasons posted here as to why young Charlie did not go to the police, I do wish the movie would have explored the fact that she essentially would have the blood of Uncle Charlie's future victims on her hands by keeping her mouth shut.
Uncle Charlie was already eyeballing the next victim (the rich widow who was also going to San Francisco) and with Charlie refusing to tell the police everything she knew she was protecting her family but at the same time putting other women's lives at risk (not to mention her own).
How could Charlie have lived with herself after finding out her mother's friend (the rich widow) was murdered and knowing in her heart that her Uncle Charlie was responsible and she did nothing to prevent it?
Also, how could she live with the fact that, once he does leave, he could come back at any time and continue the attempts on her life?
She was sacrificing her own safety/possibly her life, her future peace of mind, and other women's lives in order to protect her family.