Almost fifty years ago, a young woman named Marion pulled off a main road in California during a rainy evening and found herself at the Bates Motel. Shortly thereafter, while taking a shower, she was brutally stabbed by a knife-wielding maniac who turns out to be the motel’s owner, Norman. Toward the end of Hitchcock’s masterful “Psycho,” we learn that Norman Bates suffers from multiple personality disorder, in which both he and his mother reside within his damaged psyche.
Later this year, another psychological thriller will hit theaters, and according to one of its stars, “Peacock” may well remind audiences of Hitchcock's 1960 black-and-white mind-bender.
“['Peacock' is] what would happen if Bates had basically stayed alive and married himself,’” Josh Lucas told MTV News during a recent interview to promote his Tribeca Film Festival entry, “Tell Tale.” “It’s fascinating.”
The film stars Cillian Murphy (“28 Days Later”) as a Nebraskan bank teller named John who possesses two distinct personalities, one male and one female, neither of whom are aware of the other. Once the secret is revealed, however, he tries to convince the townsfolk that the man and the woman are actually two separate people who are married. Based on several true stories, the script comes from first time writers, Michael Lander and Ryan Roy, and will be directed by Lander. “Peacock” co-stars Ellen Page, Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman and Lucas, as John’s friend.
“For me it’s fascinating because I have interactions with him as both the female version of himself and the male version of himself,” said Lucas. “I don’t realize he’s two different people. And he has no memory of it being two different people. If ever I’ve done a movie that is close to Hitchcock, this is it.”
The entire town, Lucas explained, is “living in this very ‘50s, weird, Beaver Cleaver mentality—very rural America. And inside of it is this very, very troubled man.”
As disturbing as the material is, however, Lucas still had a blast during the shoot in Iowa. "I was like, ‘Wow, this one’s fun to make!’" he said.
What's your favorite multiple personality movie? What’s your favorite Hitchcock movie?
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