“Now you listen to me! I’m an advertising man, not a red herring. I’ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives, and several bartenders that depend on me, and I don’t intend to disappoint them all by getting myself ‘slightly’ killed!” – Roger Thornhill as played by Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest

While Hitchcock is best known for his works of horror and suspense, his masterwork North by Northwest is as much an action/adventure film as it is a thriller. This is a “man on the run” film in which a New York advertising man (think “Mad Men”) falls victim to a case of mistaken identity and becomes mixed up in, I dunno, some kind of spy shit of some sort. There’s something about microfilm, some secret organizations, government secrets, stuff like that. I don’t know. At one point, “The Professor” (Leo G. Carroll) explains that they can’t just arrest the criminals because they need to find out more about who they’re working with. Although, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure that Thornhill fucks that up for everyone, too.

And when I say, “Thornhill fucks that up too,” what I mean to say is that Roger Thornhill is somehow simultaneously the best and the worst at the same time. He clearly has a pattern of strained relationships – with his mother, two ex-wives, and as we see in the movie, a new love interest in the form of Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint, another of Hitchcock’s icy blondes). He is smart enough to get himself into trouble, and usually smart enough to get himself out of it. He manages to be framed for murder, shot at by an airplane (in an iconic sequence), and fight on top of national landmarks. He pretty much ruins everything all the time. But he also gets the girl.

I find myself having great admiration for Thornhill. A man crush, if you will.

I draw many comparisons to James Bond, who had his first film about three years later in 1962 with Dr. No. Both are your well groomed white men in suits that bed gorgeous women and visit exciting locales while working on matters of international espionage, making witty remarks along the way. But I never really did get into the Bond films. I tried, but after the first few it all started to feel very… surface level to me. There is no depth to James Bond; he is merely a man on a mission. If he loses, terrible things happen. If he kills people or blows up the moon, it really doesn’t matter because he’s James Bond and he can do whatever he wants. When there’s a conflict, James Bond uses a variation of the Kool Aid Man strategy: smash directly through the problem. OH YEAH!

Hitchcock’s film, in stark contrast, is filled with twists and turn that are laid throughout the story. Thornhill is constantly evaluating how to respond to his current predicament, and he must be far more subtle about it than Jimmy B, because unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have a license to kill. The consequences to Thornhill always feel pressing, whereas we all kind of know our old boy 007 is always going to come through. At one point, Thornhill realizes he’s being framed for murder. He looks around: “Oh shit,” his face says. “I’m in it, now.” James Bond kills people and then finishes his tea.

Despite being more terrible and more awesome than most of us will ever aspire to be, he remains relatable due to Hitchcock’s direction. We follow Thornhill and rarely know more than he does. We experience his dilemmas in real time, and are given the time to reflect on how we would respond in his shoes, building tension all the while.

I mean, I would have just paid the $2 fine for drunk driving and been done with the whole thing. And probably gotten murdered as a result. But at a certain point you have to know when to call it quits, right?

Thornhill is in many ways the apex of the refined man in an era where refined men were king. While the film is about as diverse as the bread aisle at the grocery store, what they lack in breadth they make up for in depth. They really lean in to the “man of class that’s also kind of a loveable fuck-up” thing. It’s probably this idea of somehow being extremely successful while also being kind of a human trashbag of a person that I find so compelling, and unfortunately, relatable.

And so, I must reflect on…

LIFE LESSONS FROM ROGER THORNHILL

Always Wear a Suit: Maintain Your Dignity

Thornhill finds himself in a lot of hairy circumstances. Despite this, he never loses his cool. Sure, he may panic a little bit. But whether he’s having dinner with a beautiful young woman or running from an airplane that’s shooting at him, he’s always got his suit on. In fact, having his suit cleaned is even a plot point in this movie. That is to say: Despite running from authorities across state lines because he was framed for the murder of a UN official, he still takes advantage of some down time to have his suit cleaned and sponged.

Of course, it’s not just the suit. Thornhill has witty remarks prepared even when he’s pissed off. “Patience is a virtue,” Eve Kendall reminds him as he is locked in an overhead bin. “So is breathing,” he replies.

It’s not lying, it’s “expedient exaggeration”: Speak to Your Audience

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” inquires an angry Thornhill from the back of a police car. “I’m a dangerous assassin, I’m a mad killer on the loose!”

In fact, he was not an assassin, unless you count him being a ladykiller. It seemed like everyone interacting with Thornhill had different views on him. Some thought he was a killer, others thought he was a spy, others just saw him as a regular guy trying to get off from a drunk driving charge. After trying to explain himself as just being a regular but awesome guy, midway through the movie he starts to lean in to the expectations of others. That’s where the quote above comes from: He “summoned” the police to take him away to relative safety by causing a scene. By being an asshole.

Of course, the police are redirected by the government, and are powerless to do anything to him despite obviously wanting to.

All the officer can do is just shake his head and say, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

And when the cops don’t even know what to do other than tell you you should be ashamed of yourself, that really says something.

I don’t know if that would have worked if he had been black, though.

The Charm Offensive

At one point, Thornhill climbs through a window and surprises a young woman. She is at first frightened, until she sees him. He smiles back at her. That’s not the least of it though.

Charm is his go-to tactic. Makes sense, he’s an advertising man. But whether with men or women, his aim is to project a friendly, confident, “everything is alright, we’ll take good care of you” tone in everything he does.

How can you hate this guy? Women want to be with him, and men want to be him.

Even though everyone hates him, he’s still quite charming.

Never Back Down when You Are Right

If he did, he’d have been murdered.

I dunno, there’s not much to say about that. Never back down when you’re right, or you will die.

That’s my takeaway. And no, for the last time, I am not willing to discuss my need to be right with my therapist.

Verdict

Buy this movie so that you too can learn to be amazing and hated. It comes naturally to me, and even I learn more every time I watch it.