Vertigo Review

Vertigo (1956)

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

I must admit that Alfred Hitchcock’s work is one of the big deficiencies in my history as a cinephile. I have only watched five films by the renowned director and though I’ve liked them all in one way or another, I’ve never felt compelled to dig deeper into his filmography.  Vertigo is the most personal and maybe even best of the ones I’ve seen, but there are certain things about it that keep it from being my favorite of his.

In Vertigo, the legendary James Stewart plays Scottie, a former detective who leaves the force after his acrophobia (fear of highs) kicks in during a rooftop chase and results in the dead of a fellow officer. Afterwards he is recruited by his old friend, businessman Galvin Ester to use his skills to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak), whom he suspects is possessed and in verge of committing suicide; Scottie accepts reluctantly.   

Always a realist, Scottie believes her to be insane rather than possessed. Shortly after they fall in love with each other and it is here when things start getting really strange.  Madeleine begins showing signs of her possession by one of her ancestors. Scottie can’t do anything to stop her and it all ends in tragedy.

It’s at this point where the themes of the movie change radically. What used to be a mystery and somewhat supernatural story turns into a tale of guilt, obsession and insanity. The big shift happens halfway through the movie but it manages to keep things interesting and exciting so the viewer never feels cheated.

Steward commands this film by portraying a genuinely unlikable character. He’s obsessive, compulsive, neurotic and the kind of person who tries to convince you that all the strange things happening around you have some logical explanation to the point of annoying you. Steward portrays these emotions not with expressions or movements, but with his big blue eyes that tell you everything you need to know about his character better than the dialogue would.

And in a way that is a great thing because the weakest part of this movie is its dialogue, too melodramatic and self-explanatory for its own good. Sometimes going as far as ruining scenes that could’ve been great. But the key plot points remain interesting and make up for it, that is until the absolutely horrendous and abrupt ending that kills any sense of excitement that the story had going for it until it reaches that point. There’s a big confession and then it just ends, like that, mid-climax. It’s an unsatisfying and disappointing finale that leaves the viewer without any sense of conclusion.

That, combined with the long running-time and slow pacing keep this movie’s story from flourishing the way it should. Characters like Scottie’s friend played by Barbara Bel Gedes feel unnecessary; granted, it’s important to show Scottie has normal relationships but her scenes are uninteresting and the character is not developed further than being a jealous ex-girlfriend. It just keeps the focus away from the really important characters.

If there’s something Hitchock is known for is his mastery of every technical aspect of his movies. In Vertigo, the color plays an important part in allowing us to understand the characters and it’s done in a beautiful way.  The uses of zooms and tracking shots (usually at the same time and on opposite directions) do a fantastic job in conveying the sense of vertigo Scottie is feeling and the color flashes and animation combined with live-action really get us deep into his deteriorating mind. If there’s one scene that summarizes the perfect technical qualities of this film is when Kim Novak first appears on screen in the restaurant scene,  the combination between the angle of the shot, her clothes, the background and the music is simply magnificent.

Vertigo is technically the best of the Hitchcock’s films I’ve seen, but its many flaws really hindered my enjoyment of it.  The main story is certainly exciting and it’s interesting to see a more personal side to Hitchcock’s film in the character of Scottie, who tries to model his girl in the way he wants her to be, not unlike what Hitchcock did with his main actresses. But it just lacks that entertainment value of his other films, which is why North by Northwest still remains my favorite of his work.