The Wrong Man

Inspired by true events, The Wrong Man follows jazz musician Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) as he’s forced to defend his innocence after being arrested for a series of robberies he didn’t commit. Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, armed with Maxwell Anderson and Angus MacPhail’s screenplay, delivers an exceedingly deliberate and somewhat hit-and-miss drama that ultimately fares best in its absorbing first half, as the movie’s procedural-like elements pave the way for a gripping and sporadically tense opening stretch focused predominantly on Manny’s post-arrest experiences – with, for example, the character’s interrogation at the hands of skeptical cops and his eventual imprisonment certainly as fascinating and engrossing as one might’ve hoped. The compelling atmosphere is heightened considerably by Hitchcock’s stylish visuals and a predictably commanding turn by Fonda, and it’s impossible, ultimately, not to wish that the focus had remained entirely on Fonda’s remarkably sympathetic figure – as The Wrong Man‘s mid-movie emphasis on Manny’s wife’s (Vera Miles’ Rose) mental breakdown is hardly as captivating or enthralling as Hitchcock has undoubtedly intended. The end result is an erratic yet mostly engaging piece of work that benefits from Hitchcock’s predominantly gritty and unsentimental approach to the material, while Fonda’s persistently spellbinding performance goes a long way towards ultimately smoothing over the picture’s various bumps and lulls.

*** out of ****