A movie with plot, acting and direction? So that's why it's so well thought of.

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 2002)

Many a better reviewer has gone before me and explained, more clearly, why `Vertigo' is a very good movie. They'll point to the story - there actually is one! And it's smart! And it has a great little twist, while not pandering to typical Hollywood concepts of how a story should resolve. Is it the acting? Yes, that too. James Stewart has great scene presence, playing the affable detective who starts to become a borderline obsessive with Madeleine, the girl he's assigned to track down. He's able to add a tint of darkness to the role, in keeping with the film's sombre mood. And of course there's Kim Novak in a dual role, who has a haunting, ghostly presence, softly spoken, as she drifts through the movie, touching on the lives of those around her.
And then it's Hitchcock - so there's direction. There's the symbolism of mirrors used throughout the movie - in keeping with the theme of the true nature of people being revealed. There's a great use of lighting - Judy Barton in blazing white light at a moment of epiphany, couched in darkness the next. There's the famous `contra-zoom' effect employed magnificently to demonstrate Ferguson's vertigo. There are picturesque shots, and a score that fits to the flow of the movie. The great thing about a movie like `Vertigo' is that things happen for a reason - rather than contrivance. It means that there's been love put into the picture. Sure, it won't satisfy some average cinema goers, who went a blaze of machine gun fire, but as an intelligent, well constructed drama it would seem deserving of it's place in IMDB's Top 30. 8.3/10.