AVERAGE

HE MADE HER HIS STAR. AND HIS DARKEST OBSESSION. 

Former model Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller) is thrilled to learn that Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones) is choosing her to star in his next movie… but the professional relationship quickly turns into abuse.

The story of how Hedren was picked for The Birds (1963) and became the target of Hitchcock’s sexual obsessions (which, she says, subsequently ruined her career) makes for a depressing portrait of the brilliant director and his sadistic bent.

But it’s also a compelling tale about a strong woman refusing to surrender, even as she’s being tortured mentally and physically. The four leads are uniformly fine.

2012-U.S.-U.K. 91 min. Color. Directed by Julian Jarrold. Book: Donald Spoto (“Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies”). Cast: Sienna Miller (Tippi Hedren), Toby Jones (Alfred Hitchcock), Penelope Wilton (Peggy Robertson), Imelda Staunton, Sean Cameron Michael, Candice D’Arcy.