A more suitable title to this would be: "Hitch and Alma: The love story." But as Alma — the wife of cinema giant Alfred Hitchcock — complains in this fictional and wildly entertaining account of Hitchcock's private life, no one pays her any attention because "all they can see is the great and glorious genius Alfred Hitchcock!"

Which wasn't fair. Alma was a brilliant woman in her own right and Alfred Hitchcock, or "Hitch" as he was known in his circle, depended entirely on his talented writer/ace editor of a wife and looked to her for support in every aspect of his life. That is, with the exception of the love factor. For that he chased young blonde leading ladies, most famously Tippi Hedren, who would become mother to actress Melanie Griffith. In "Hitchcock," he lusts after Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson) right under Alma's nose, and the sight isn't pretty.

Hitchcock (played with studied relish by Anthony Hopkins) was a letch, but director Sacha Gervasi ("Anvil") makes no judgments, preferring instead to explore his relationship with Alma (Helen Mirren) and their very particular living arrangements (example: If Alma felt rage about Hitch forever ogling young starlets, she kept it under wraps and healed herself by relaxing at their home pool).