Review of Vertigo (1958) by Kyle20Ellis — 14 Mar 2022

I am a massive Hitchcock fan; this great director ain't called the Master of Suspense for nothing. Anyway, Vertigo is one of the truly great Hitchcocks. It is a thriller of undeniable complexity not only in plot but also in characterisation. It is implausible too I give you that. I will admit the first time I saw this, I didn't understand this, then again this is the sort of film that you need to see more than once. In all departments, this movie is a masterpiece and my all time favourite Hitchcock. For those who say this is the worst movie ever, you would beg to differ if you saw genuine crapfests like Disaster Movie, Home Alone 4, NeverEnding Story 3 and Superbabies:Baby Geniuses 2. They are a trillion times worse than this without a shadow of a doubt.

What makes this movie great? When I re watched this, I got goosebumps. It is quite chilling, suspenseful and extremely haunting. The complex plot tells of a retired cop with a terror of heights who is hired by Gavin Elster to follow his suicidal wife. In the end, he falls in love with her but can't stop her falling to her death. Months later he sees a woman bearing strong resemblance to her, and is drawn into a web of deceit and obsession. There are so many strong moments here, especially Scotty following Madeline up the tower only to witness her falling to her death, but also of the San Francissco locations giving a dreamlike quality to an already dark and complex movie. The screenplay is sophisticated and sharp as well. And I have to mention Bernard Hermann's score, it was phenomenal, along with Miklos Rosza's score for Spellbound and Hermann's for Psycho this is the most memorable score in any Hitchcock film, and is guaranteed to have your hairs standing up on the back of your necks.

The direction from Hitchcock is simply masterly. The cinematography isn't dated at all. It is stylish and full of contrasts of dark and bright colours, and is also very brooding and intense. I had very little problem with the film's pace and length; in fact let me rephrase that I had no problem with it. I felt actually that Torn Curtain had a much slower pace, and for me that film while good is one of my least favourite Hitchcock movies. The acting I thought was exceptional. Kim Novak starts off a little wooden, but she is certainly very beautiful and enigmatic. In the duel role of the suicidal wife and the woman bearing resemblance to her, she does an in general excellent job, considering both are extremely demanding roles. About James Stewart, whether he was a racist I don't know, but simply I don't care. Whether you are racist or not, it shouldn't matter when it comes to acting and films. What matters is that Stewart was a great actor who rarely gave a bad performance. In this film, he gives one of his best performances, shattering his Mister-Nice-Guy persona with a dark, brooding and truly complex characterisation. Barbara Bel Geddes also gives a terrific performance as Midge.

All in all, a superb film, that deserves recognition as one of Hitchcock's best films. Seriously, it is one of the most effective depictions of romantic fatalism in all of cinema.