What is the painting all about?????

maybe this is incredibly obvious, but the impact the continued references to the painting had on me was to imply that Grant's character killed the father, as a link was established between the painting and anytime death was in the air...

I love MacGuffins! But that wouldn't make any sense.

I would fully agree on that. In addition another rather abstract picture was shown next to the families house front door as Lina leaves to meet Johnnie at the Registrar. The weirdom has just entered the house.

The interpretation that the painting is a window to Lina's character is interesting, but the house was decorated by the man hired by Johnnie. So it should reflect more his character than hers; and even so, only indirectly.

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Yes! I totally agree. I can't believe this thorough analysis of what looked to me like a regular joe policeman looking at this funny looking picture. He is just trying to figure out what it's supposed to be and why anybody would hang it on the wall.
From rpetersen's posting: sometimes a painting is just a painting.

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I agree 100%. I think the odd, abstract painting is there simply to have another level of 'wierd' and 'distracting' and 'hunh?' and 'what exactly am I looking at'....... which all fits perfectly with what Fontaine's character goes through the whole movie with.

by rpetersen (Mon Jun 13 2005 16:13:06)
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Personally speaking, in this case, to paraphrase Freud, sometimes a painting is just a painting. I think it was an attempt to inject a little humor into the movie. The detective, used to seeing portraits and other "realistic" paintings, was perplexed at this new-fangled cubism hanging on the wall, and kept on puzzling over it, trying to make heads or tails over what it represented. That's it. Nothing deep or sinister or symbolic. My two cents.




I totally agree. The painting was just a painting. Lina didn't even decorate the house. It was let fully furnished and decorated.

“was perplexed at this new-fangled cubism hanging on the wall, and kept on puzzling over it, trying to make heads or tails over what it represented. That's it. Nothing deep or sinister or symbolic. My two cents.”

This^

These scenes are discussed briefly on the documentary for Strangers on a Train. You might check out the DVD for more info, but the jist of the conversation is that Hitchcock didn't care for abstract expressionism in art. Perhaps this painting is just another way to draw the viewer into the feelings of insecurity and suspicion Lina experiences, by taking reality out of the equation. As Lina struggles to discover what is real and what she suspects, so also does the viewer question reality.

Its true that Hitchcock puts jokes in the films. But I don't know about the portrait.

The role of "flowers" is very important. Some people claim that it means "point of view". We see "Flower" in nearly every single scene of this movie.

We see the role of "flowers" in other Hitchcock movies like Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, Rear Window, and some other films.

phaecops-1 said "This is an old trick of screenwriting. Always give minor players "character", that is, some idiosyncrasy that the audience will identify with and make them feel sympathy. This provides the powerful effect that the small players are not just extras dropped in to support the plot but are real people like you and I. Having the junior constable react to a cubist (elitist) work of art instantly eleavated the character to something bigger than a walk on since 99% of the audience agreed with him."

That is the best answer.

It's not about her, (certainly not even close to a McGuffin) and only
marginally useful as a red herring. I did wonder about it at the time, whether it might prove to be stolen or something.
But just to make a character interesting is a good reason for it.
And of course Hitchcock chose something he didn't like and knew others made fun of as the target. But the point of the cameo was not the painting but the cop.

The same trick was played with their maid. He sounded insincere when he said they had just met, and then later he gave her a fox wrap. Would make any wife, and any audience detective, tuck that away as a possible clue.

I think the painting the detective stares at is a little insight into Alfred Hitchcock. In either To Catch a Thief or North by Northwest, I don't remember which one, Jessie Stevens puts out her cigarette in a egg. I remember on the special features that someone mentioned that Alfred Hitchcock didn't like eggs. Just like the eggs, I think the painting the dectective stares at in which Hitchcock shot intentionally shows Alfred Hitchcock's opinion of that painting and its style. He doesn't get, understand it, or is a little confused by it.