 The film 's portrayal of Hitchcock as a sexual predator was criticised . Some audience members at a British Film Institute private screening expressed their concerns that writer Gwyneth Hughes and director Julian Jarrold unfairly represented Hitchcock . On the day of its UK television premiere , David Millward of The Daily Telegraph quoted Eva Marie Saint , Doris Day and Kim Novak ( who worked with Hitchcock ) ; all refuted Hedren 's account of him . Writing for <unk> ( a website established in response to the media 's portrayal of Hitchcock ) , John Russell Taylor – author of the 1978 biography Hitch – said the film is " totally absurd " . 
