Psycho: Norman Bates

On my first watch through of the film Psycho, I found the character of Norman Bates to be interesting and complex. In actuality he is one character holding two personalities, Norman and his mother. As a child he was very disturbed, murdering his mother and step father, possibly out of sexually charged, possessive jealousy and presenting traits of the Oedipus complex. After the murder, Norman suppressed his memories of it and kept his mother alive through his own body, having his mother be a secondary personality alongside his own. However as time goes on, the mother side of his personality becomes increasingly more dominant and controlling. Now his trait of sexual jealousy has shifted to the mother side, so much so that if he feels attraction for another woman, his mother side becomes more dominant and enraged, creating an internal conflict between the two sides of his personality. The mother side fully takes over and commits murder in order to resolve the conflict, mirroring Norman's initial murder. 

I want to briefly touch on the very last shot of the film: the fourth wall break scene. This shot completely cements the fact that Norman's awkward and kind exterior is a complete act. The 

I feel that films don't really delve into the psyche of killers this deeply or cover the same topics of linking sex and violence. I think this is why this character is so intriguing to me, he has motivations for his killings however they aren't relatable or understandable by any means. He is a pure villain. 

Other things I enjoyed throughout the film was the subversion of expectations, killing off the main character so soon and the constant motif of birds.