Vertigo (1958)
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Vertigo Movie Review
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller noir film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. It is one of the best films from the director.
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“You shouldn’t keep souvenirs of a killing.
You shouldn’t have been that sentimental“
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The plot is fantastic and unlike any other in the history of not just the genre, but the entire film. Obviously the film explores some excellent themes such as obsession, both sexual and psychological, and especially the male gaze and even fetishism in a way. Hitchcock obviously put a lot of personal issues into this film and it shows as it feels highly personal and all the greater for it. The titular vertigo and acrophobia are also very well depicted.
I will later talk about some of the film’s little deficiencies, but first let’s talk about the overall plot and feel of the film. The movie is very mysterious and enigmatic, highly weird and infused with a sense of dreamlike quality to it. That is why it accomplishes to enchant viewers today just as much as it did before. It truly is a timeless film.
Of the highlights, naturally that bell tower sequence (two in fact) is amazing and utilizing so well on the protagonist’s fear of height. The ending is immensely creepy and simply unforgettable as one of the greats in movie history. But the entire romance also works beautifully and is emotionally felt and although the first half is much slower, it is hypnotic and mysterious in quality so it works to prepare us for shocking, weird and fascinating second half.
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I just love the main two characters and the film mostly focuses just on these two leading to such a simpler, less characters approach which I love the most. Judy Barton (or Madeleine) is such a fascinating figure and to me the film almost vilified her at times too much as I personally sympathized with her even more than with Scottie. But still the fact that the director made sure that we get both of their stories and the focus is on both of them was a great choice.
Scottie is phenomenal as well and incredibly well developed and such a complex character. He is more interesting than your usual bland thriller protagonist as evidenced by great writing and characterization. His fears and impulses and desires are so well put on screen leading to the character literally coming to life. The performance from James Stewart is simply fantastic per usual and another proof that he just might be the greatest actor ever. But Kim Novak is not bad either as she absolutely excelled at playing her career-defining role. She brought in the emotion so well along with the sex appeal.
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Gavin is rarely seen, but works superbly as the film’s mastermind villain. And honestly I really did not like the film’s treatment of Midge. She is Scottie’s former girlfriend and she is just brushed aside both by him and by the film. She was unnecessary to the main plot of the film in my opinion.
And that brings me to the film’s flaws which are all rather small but still leading to the imperfect and far from flawless picture. Midge is one flaw, the other flaw is that the first half of the film is not as engaging upon more viewings and of course the major flaw is the reveal of the twist. The twist itself is spectacular, but the choice to reveal it so early led to a more blunted third act. The reveal at the very end would have been much more impactful in my opinion. The only reason why this choice works well is that it led to a more sympathetic portrayal of Judy, but a different approach would have led to Scottie being more sympathetic.
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Of course Vertigo is phenomenal in terms of the technical aspects. Hitchcock’s deft and also personal direction worked wonders of course, but so did the excellent dialogue and amazing score and sound effects. The cinematography is amazing as the film is beautifully, elegantly shot and filmed with unforgettable imagery such as the tower and the bridge. The noir atmosphere, the dreamy quality to the film and the overall fantastic execution of a great concept led to one of Hitch’s finest pictures.
Vertigo has its small flaws such as the brushing aside of the Midge character as well as the twist being revealed way too soon, but it’s still a great twist and the overall storyline is a one of a kind, authentic and deeply hypnotic, even personal tale of obsession. The film achieves its enigmatic, dreamlike and weird quality thanks to terrific sound effects, beautiful score and some unforgettable imagery at display such as the bell tower and the bridge scene. The performances from Kim Novak and James Stewart are also superb and their characters are quite fascinating and their romance is unforgettable.
