MY REVIEW: Height of Hitchcockian Experience

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2014)

Vertigo. Yet another Alfred Hitchcockian experience that keeps you dazzled throughout. James Stewart playing an ex-detective John 'Scottie' Ferguson has fear of heights. He is requested by one good old friend to follow and watch his wife's abnormal behavior at times. Doing so, John gets dangerously obsessed with her and things starts to complicate.
Movie is like a ticking time bomb, keeps you puzzled, revealing important twists time to time. Like any other Hitchcock work, here you feel and live what characters feel and live. James as the lead actor does an astounding job. Kim Novak is gorgeous and magnetic as Madeleine Elster but somewhat mechanical as Judy Barton.
But Vertigo is not without its flaws. Other than lead characters, people keep disappearing just like that from the plot, like Kim's husband and James's friend. The whole focus is on James and his fear of heights. Going towards end, movie heightens the suspense but leaves you with a heartbreaking climax that somewhat lessens the overall impact.
I am going with fantastic 8 out of 10 for Vertigo. It is controversially one of the best of Hitchcock but it is still way ahead in its genre.