Lambie Reviews Family Plot

Year: 1976
Accolades: Essential Hitchcock Viewing
Review on Letterboxd: 'Family Plot' Review by Avalanche

This is Alfred Hitchcock's last film in which a phoney psychic and her cab driving friend attempt to hunt down a man for an old woman because he may be the heir to a small fortune. The reward for tracking him down is a cool $10 000, so they will do whatever it takes (short of actually using psychic powers) to find the man. Unfortunately, the man in question has a bigger secret.

It's clear from this film that even at this late stage Hitchcock had lost none of his edge for suspense or humour. The final sequence in particular, in which one of our heroes slowly pieces together that something untoward my have befallen our other hero and then tracks said person down, is gripping stuff.

Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris are fantastic opposite each other as the cab driver and supposed psychic. They start of with questionable morals, since they seem to be scam artists in their own right, but their hearts are in the right place and it's no wonder that Hitchcock can get you rooting for them as they continuously face off against hardship and life threatening situations in order to track down this man and make some money.

Karen Black and William Devane are equally good opposite each other as the villains. The scene in which they are introduced involves a crafty diamond theft, hostage exchange, and payoff. By the time the diamond is safely hidden, you know everything you need to about these two characters.

Admittedly, there are some convenient coincidences that help our two heroes along until the final conclusion, but they don't feel out of place. Rather, there is a sense of believability in that the two got lucky on a couple of occasions. It's not overdone, so it doesn't stick out and ruin the plot completely. In fact, coincidence is cleverly used as a major plot point in the second act.

On the downside, the film does tend to feel like it takes a bit too long to get to where it feels like the plot is really moving. In addition to the conveniences, there are a few other sequences that in today's terms are heavily cliched, particularly a sequence in which a car's brake lines get cut causing all sorts of mayhem down a winding road. It doesn't necessarily make the scenes bad, it just makes them feel a little dated.

If you're willing to forgive it's flaws, Family Plot is an enjoyable film that serves as a good showcase for Hitchcock's talent, even if there was sadly nothing else that followed.