I had always heard about the tension that the Master of Suspense director created with him and his actresses, the one I know best is Joan Fontaine during the filming of Rebecca to get the best reactions on screen, but this was one I had to see after I had heard so many rumours, so this is the dramatisation of the story, from director Julian Jarrold (Kinky Boots, Becoming Jane, Appropriate Adult). Basically director Alfred Hitchcock (Golden Globe nominated Toby Jones) has an obsession with using blonde actresses in his pictures, they have included Kim Novak, Janet Leigh, Eva Marie Saint and Grace Kelly who has retired to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco, and for his latest movie, The Birds, he is looking for the next one, and he discovers her when he and his wife Alma Reville (Imelda Staunton) see her in a television commercial. Tippi Hedren (Golden Globe nominated Sienna Miller) is a little known model and occasional actress, but has no experience of movie acting, but she is screen tested and successful in getting the part of Melanie Daniels, other actresses have apparently been thriving to be the lead star. Of course besides his desire to create a movie that will be scarier and more terrifying than Psycho, Hitchcock has a sexual desire for Tippi, he is happy to spend time with her and help her with her every need, and for a while she sees him as just an innocent and kind man, of course when he gets too close she realises his true intentions. He puts her through a lot while filming the birds, using many of his unorthodox techniques to create the right reactions while filming, and using real birds for an attic scene which left scratched and traumatised, appalled Alma and director's assistant Peggy Robertson (Penelope Wilton) can't do anything to help her. The situations are giving her nightmares, but with her contract she is almost forced to agree to being in Hitchcock's next picture, Marnie, also starring Sean Connery who has been successful with the recent James Bond films, and during the process of filming Alma tells Tippi that she is the only woman Hitchcock has had sex with, this is a good explanation for his advances. Tippi continues to suffer through Hitchcock's phone calls and various other ways declaring his love for her, there is even an incident with a possible attempt at rape, and eventually not long before the end of filming she finally snaps at her director. Tippi stands up for herself, but Hitchcock reminds her that he made her famous and that she has a contract to live up to, but she demands that her contract be terminated, and sure enough he, according to claims, told her that he would ruin her and make sure she never works in Hollywood again, and the end says that they never worked again (ironically she is in the TV made sequel of The Birds, and as a different character). Also starring Carl Beukes as Jim Brown, Conrad Kemp as Evan Hunter, Angelina Ingpen as Melanie, Candice D'Arcy as Josephine Milton, Kate Tilley as Rita Riggs, Leon Clingman as Ray Berwick, Patrick Lyster as Bob Boyle and Aubrey Shelton as Maitre D. Miller gives a really good performance as the young actress who wants to prove herself a good actress but goes through hell to keep this going, Jones is great as the director who is a genius for his craft but has something of a darker side to get what he wants on and off screen, the writers definitely do everything right to make this biographical story feel realistic, you believe most of everything that happens and recognise the on screen stuff from the two films by Hitchcock, an interesting drama based on a true story. It is nominated the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Good!