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Let’s talk about Bates, baby. I am
a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan and loved Psycho; from the casting to the way the
movie was shot (especially back in the day) it was a great thriller for that
time. Creator of Bates Motel Anthony
Cipriano knew what he was doing when he casted Freddie Highmore to play Norman
Bates, he really connected to the material. He has the same mannerisms, same
explosive behavior and slowly but surely you can see this kid growing up to
dress up in his mother’s robe and stab a girl in the shower. His mother, Norma
Bates, (Vera Farmiga) also does an amazing job portraying that overprotective
and needy mother who has been unsuccessful in love but will always have Norman,
and through subtle shots of the mother in lingerie or changing in front of
Norman down to their fully loaded dialogue suggests that their relationship
will enter the creepy status sometime soon (I don’t want to spoil it but
seriously look at every scene Norma and Norman are in for hidden glances and
subtle sexual gestures.)
What absolutely kills me about the
show is that it takes place in the PRESENT. I nearly shouted at the TV when I
saw Norman Bates was waiting for his school bus with an IPHONE! I was caught so
off guard because from that point on I was lost in the show gapping on how it
takes place in our time and not the 1950s, when Psycho came out. Yes, that
would make Norman a teenager in the 1930s-1940s but I was shocked how they
changed the era completely instead of making it more ‘movie era accurate’. Is
it to grab the attention of people who don’t know Psycho? I mean the house and
motel itself is a legendary set so I don’t know how people could not know
however, life goes on and I continued to watch the show. I decided to take it with a grain of salt
because I’ve always loved the movie and decided it would be interesting to see
Norman Bates as a teenager now, especially since so much has happened
historically since then, like famous murder cases and huge leaps in crime scene
forensics.
Another fact I found unrealistic is
Norman Bates meeting four hot girls from his new school at a bus stop and them
automatically trying to be friends with him. Sorry, I’m not used to new kid in
creepy house becoming popular with the ladies overnight and basically that is
what happens. It is refreshing from the typical “eww he’s new, no one be
friends with him” thing but in this day and age, lanky pale teenager would not
be the heartthrob of the hot rich chicks in school (unless you were Harry
Potter).
All that aside, within the first
episode there is murder, suspicion and secrets that are begging to be
told. It’s very gripping and I
personally don’t like horror but I would keep up with this show because of the Psycho roots and the way they adapt the roots
of this classic film into a modern day series. They even keep similar camera
angles around the house like they did in the film, and every scene between
Norma and Norman show sexual tension, even with the size of the frame. Wait
until the cops enter in the series because we constantly then see Norma always
in the front of the frame while Norman lingers in the back frame, being
protected by his mother. The very interesting cinematography kept me hooked as
you can see.
This series was aired March 18th
2013 but you can easily catch up on A&E or on their website.
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