Review of Vertigo (1958) by Manicure — 22 Nov 2020

“Vertigo” is one of those films that you are forced to give a full score to if you want to look like someone who understands cinema. The cinematography is extraordinary for the time, but that’s the case with most of Hitchcock’s works. The meticulous camerawork goes along with the structure of the film, with wide angles that follow Scottie’s eyes through the investigation, warmer closeups after he finds love, and again wide but this time disorienting cuts in the third part as the mystery unfolds and Scottie loses his mind. The theme of the “spiral“ associated with the feeling of vertigo is also recurrent both visually and narratively. Technicolor is used as an expressive means, with vivid and vibrant colors standing for Scottie’s passion and fantasies, and dark, pale palettes once he faces reality in the ending. Judy is often associated with different shades green, bright for her dress as Madeleine, dim when she connects with Carlotta at the cemetery and at the museum. During her iconic metamorphosis scene in the hotel room, the green neon lights paint the whole room in an eerie, unnatural tint that creates an uncanny atmosphere and points out Scottie’s twisted desire to connect to an otherworldly dimension. The camera uses broad POV angles when following the eye of the investigation, changes to warm close-ups when love begins, and then switches back to wide but disorienting frames as Scottie starts getting lost. These are all pretty common techniques in modern filmmaking, but that found one of their first mature expressions here. The special effects and painted sceneries surely show their limits, but are also used tastefully in the memorable nightmare sequence.

Unfortunately, the script and acting are not up to par, at times leaning towards soap-opera level melodrama. The film is indeed a fascinating mystery that masterfully portrays a woman’s inner conflict and a psychopath’s pathetic obsession for something that is not real (his attempt at “resurrecting” Madeleine by humiliating Judy as a woman, his lifetime search for a love that is not ordinary despite having someone who truly cares always beside him). However, I couldn’t feel for the mawkish sentimentalism and soppy love story at all. While it’s clear that there is no deep connection between the two from a rational point of view, the film keeps forcing it on you idealizing their passion with corny dialogues and music. Everyone just remembers Herrmann’s hypnotic opening theme, but the rest is just your average Hollywood melodrama.

These issues might be marginal for a film that, after all, reflects the taste of a sixty-year-old Hollywood, but prevented me from considering “Vertigo” as a timeless masterpiece.