November has been a good month for cinematic reincarnations. Earlier this month it was Daniel Day-Lewis, who became Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (still hate it.) This week, it’s fellow Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins who “packs on the pounds” to portray legendary director Alfred Hitchcock in Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock, a light-hearted look at the filming (and inspiration) of Hitchcock’s Psycho.

While the physical likeness is at times striking, it’s Hopkins’ subtle pauses and steadfast determination that complete the on-screen metamorphosis. Hopkins proves once again... he’s the best living actor in Hollywood.

IMDb Plot: A love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (Hopkins) and wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) during the filming of Psycho in 1959.

What’s Good: Hopkins. Hopkins. Hopkins. He plays Hitchcock with an almost innocence that allows you to overlook his obvious shortcomings (such as installing peep holes into his female stars’ dressing rooms.) Whether he’s bathing in the buff, donning a garden hat & shears or simply turning his head on his doctor’s couch, Hopkins takes subtlety to a whole new level. By the time he performs a parallel maestro act in a movie theater lobby during the Psycho premiere, you’re completely hooked.

The selfish side of me would be remiss, if I didn’t mention super-foxy Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh. From the moment she first appears (to Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” Johansson gives notice that she’s the only woman in every room she’s in.

What’s Not: If you didn’t know better, you might believe Hopkins was at the end of his rope back in 1959. Au contraire, mon frere. The mighty Hitch had just wrapped up a couple of films you may have heard of... Vertigo and North by Northwest. Gervasi gives Hitch an almost Ed Wood-like feel of desperation. Strange.

What I liked least of all were the repeated dream sequences where he “talks shop” with Ed Gein (Michael Wincott.) I can only imagine Gervasi was trying to convey Gein’s influence on the character of Norman Bates (Perkins) but does he have to appear so often?

They Said It: Hitchcock is full of spoken gems, but how can you do better than Hopkins’ ‘You can call me Hitch. Hold the cock.’ when first introduced to an allegedly gay Anthony Perkins (James D'Arcy?) I also liked Hitch’s ‘She won’t be nude. She’ll be wearing a shower cap!’ in reference to the shapely Leigh/famous shower scene.

What’s the Grade? There’s an air of familiarity (My Week with Marilyn, only American) that’s hard to ignore; but Hitchcock is delightfully entertaining and funny. The film as a whole is good, but the nuances are what I found most appealing. How can you not enjoy a Ralph Macchio cameo as the guy who wrote Psycho’s screenplay? I’ve never seen anyone look so overwhelmed, so well before. The love story angle with Mirren wanes on a bit, but how can you complain about having an actor of Dame Helen’s caliber on screen too much? I only wish she were better utilized. I wouldn’t label Hitchcock as special; but as pure entertainment, it’s hard to beat.