Vertigo (1958)

“Vertigo” is a brilliantly directed and superbly shot film; it kept me on the edge of my seat! I really enjoyed it… until the movie grinds to a halt at the half-way mark and features a “dramatic” ending that made me burst out laughing!

So without further ado, let’s throw ourselves into the spiralling psychedelic descent into insanity that is Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo!”

This movie was my introduction to Hitchcock’s filmography (apart from “The Lady Vanishes” which I saw 7 years ago and can’t remember anything about.) I know it’s an obvious statement but his direction in “Vertigo” is absolutely fantastic. The film builds suspense from the first frame, creating a mystery that gave me just enough information to follow the plot without being too obvious. Each scene looks amazing, the lighting, colour palette and camerawork were all stunning and still hold up 61 years later. I thoroughly look forward to watching more of Hitchcock’s work!

James “Wonderful Life” Stewart played the “grizzled detective who falls for a mysterious woman” archetype very well, before obliterating everything we liked about his character as his mind shatters! Well done Stewart, your mental breakdown was very convincing!

Kim Novak as the woman who may-or-may-not-be on the verge of suicide was excellent; the audience can’t work her character out until the climax of “Vertigo.”

My favourite scene in “Vertigo” was the sequence in which James Stewart’s Scottie (“She canny take anymore captain!”) has a fevered nightmare and falls through swirling vortexes of madness! This scene was bonkers and vibrant and I loved it!

So, this is where we reach the negatives. As I mentioned earlier, after a certain climatic moment “Vertigo” screeches to a halt. After an hour of slow-burning build-up and psychological tension, the movie becomes, well, boring. The story ends for fifteen minutes whilst it emphasises how downtrodden Scottie is. Even though it makes sense in hindsight, at the time these scenes were just so dull and sadly tore away all of my enthusiasm for “Vertigo.”

And finally, the final minute of this movie was hilarious. What is crafted as an operatic conclusion to the twisting tale becomes a slapstick punch-line faster than you can say “detective.” Even though it ends at the top of a church in the dead of night (when in need of extra epic-ness, set your conclusion at the top of a tower) the sudden appearance of an eerie figure played like a parody. I may seem cruel, but I found the abrupt accidental demise of a certain character amusing!

This is one of those times where review ratings can be a real headache. On the one hand, I could give “Vertigo” a solid four stars because of the strength of the first hour; on the other hand, the less-than-stellar second half makes a three star review seem more appropriate. So, I’ll just click a star at random before submitting my review and hope for the best!