In the intimate press conference for Bates Motel at Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego, the writers tell us that Norman Bates will go where Norman has never been before. These are the little nuggets of information that we usually don’t get at the large Hall H panels.
Most film enthusiasts are familiar with the character Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins, in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” In A&E’s “Bates Motel,” screenwriters Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin want us to love Norman and understand where he came from before he goes all phsyco. And they’ve achieved this brilliantly in the first two seasons of this show.
Bates Motel Screenwriters Cuse and Ehrin at Comic-Con 2014 Photo S. Valle
Casting baby-faced Freddie Highmore in the title role gives this otherwise disturbed character a very endearing quality. Yes, endearing. Norman, in his teenage years before his psyche unravels, is capable of emotion. He has a love interest in this modern take of the classic film.
The tenderness in Vera Farmiga’s portrayal of Norma Bates is exquisite and quite relatable, especially by mothers who, as she said sitting across from me at a round table interview, “… is a mom who is trying to fiercely protect her child.”
Bates Motel at Comic-Con 2014 Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore Photo S. Valle
Farmiga was also quick to explain that Norma is not an evil mother.
“Norma is traumatized. She’s been dealt a bad hand. She thinks she can love her son out of his illness.” Norma Bates’ struggles in this regard are formidable.
Then there’s the handsome Romero played by Nestor Carbone (“Lost”). Need I say more? Oh, yes. He is not wearing any eyeliner. I saw this with my own two eyes!
Having watched Freddie Highmore grow up in front of us on screen and paired with Farmiga, an Academy Award nominee, makes for a compelling duo who bring to life this archetypal story line in Bates Motel: The every-day struggle between a boy and his mother and the bond that in every boy’s life must be severed — though not so violently, of course.
Although we know how this classic Hitchcock story ends, the journey to the gruesome climax hadn’t been explored from this angle before. By the little bit the writers and actors were willing to share with us as far as spoilers, “there are about three more seasons” to this story.
Bates Motel is in its second season. Watch it Mondays at 10pm ET on A&E.
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