Not Hitchcock's best. Slow.

One of Hitchcock’s great, powerful films. I love the entire production, the effectively conveyed sense of unease, and the fantastic cast. Alongside Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren is my absolute favorite actress in Hitchcock’s films. She is incredibly talented, stunningly beautiful, and a joy to watch. Of course, the equally charismatic and handsome Sean Connery shines in his role as the domineering Mark Rutland. All in all, an interesting film. The only thing that bothers me is that the character played by Connery is too preoccupied with humiliating the woman, who is traumatized by her childhood, in order to show her who’s the boss—to the point where he even becomes somewhat abusive. Even though he supposedly loves her and should want her to get professional help. I don’t know; from today’s perspective, however, his “help” is somewhat questionable. That said, we also know that Hitchcock, back in those days, tended to favor male dominance over women.

I never really got into “Marnie.” It was interesting to see Sean Connery in a role other than James Bond from the 1960s. But ultimately, he is just a much more unsympathetic and even more misogynistic version of the legendary spy. And unlike in “The Birds,” Tippi Hedren didn’t convince me either. What is completely missing in “Marnie” is the tongue-in-cheek humor that is typical of Alfred Hitchcock. As a result, the film is rather dull, and there is no character you really want to root for. It is also the Hitchcock film that has perhaps aged the worst—such as when it comes to dealing with rape. From a technical standpoint, “Marnie” is still well-made, but I didn't like the story and therefore cannot recommend the film in 2025.

I must've watched this before because I gave it 8/10 on IMDb. I've got no recollection of that viewing. It seems a very odd story to make a film about and the main characters are very puzzling to have any understanding or compassion for initially; it does come eventually but it only happens in the very last moments of the film.

Yiiiiikes, this movie was fucked up. Hitchcock was clearly fascinated with Freud, especially with the ideas of repression and the unconscious mind, but doesn’t do great at using those ideas in meaningful ways. (See Spellbound.) Using Marnie’s childhood trauma as a reason for her kleptomania would be silly, on its own, but hanging her recovery and salvation [spoiler] on the shoulders of the man who manipulates her into marriage and then rapes her [/spoiler] turns the movie into something too despicable for words. Viewing this within the lens of what we know of Hitchcock and his leading ladies (especially Tippi Hedren) lends an extra layer of ick on top of the whole thing. Hard pass.