'Vertigo' is a smart, excellently crafted unconventional mystery with some surprising twists

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2015)

In 1954, Alfred Hitchcock gained an interest in a French novel entitled The Living and the Dead (or, in French, D'entre les morts), and gained the rights to it before it had even been translated to English. Originally, Madeline was supposed to be played by Vera Miles, but she had to back out due to her pregnancy, and Hitchcock then went with Kim Novak. It took three months to film, and the music was done once again by Bernard Hermann, composer of a lot of Hitchcock's work (including Psycho). When it was first released, it received mixed reception, with people disappointed that Hitchcock departed from his usual romantic-thriller, and had veered off into mystery. So, with all of this in mind, and this film being a personal favorite of my friend, a Hitchcock aficionado, let's dive right into a film that changed Hitchcock's career forever!
Vertigo follows an former detective with a fear of heights who is enlisted by an old college friend to follow his wife, because the man fears his wife may be suicidal. As the detective gets further and further into the dark mystery, he soon finds that he may be in love with the woman.
I didn't know what to expect from this movie, honestly. Like I said, my one friend is a very big fan of the movie, and that's what propelled me to watch it as one of the first Hitchcock films as part of my marathon. James Stewart and Kim Novak do stellar jobs as the two leads, bringing themselves as well as the audience into a whirlwind romance that is rather remarkable the more you think about it. Stewart, in particular, really sells the character that I believe Hitchcock was going for. Barbara Bel Geddes does a lovely job as Midge, and really sells the character of a girl just trying to help Scottie through what is happening. Tom Helmore does a great job in his somewhat limited role as Madeleine's husband, really selling the role he's supposed to play.
The effects used in the movie, particularly the ones used to convey Scottie's fear of heights are quite remarkable given the time in which they were done. It truly feels like you can feel his fear and what he's going through, The music, done by longtime Hitchcock collabrator Bernard Herrmann, is quite impressive. Especially the music in the opening, it gets you curious and grabs your attention immediately so you begin asking what's going on.
The set pieces, making great use of many locations around San Francisco, are fantastic. Special greetings are given to the church used in the middle-end of the film, which had a tower that was digitally superimposed upon the church, harking back to the effects comments I made. Another set I liked are both Midge and Scottie's apartments, the contrasts between Midge's bright colors and Scottie's more subdued ones are quite subtly done.
Perhaps my one complaint with the film, and it's probably just trivial, but the scene where Scottie has a nightmare and it's all cartoonish and stuff, it seemed really fake and forced. I mean, it's still a cool sequence, but I feel like it didn't mesh well enough with the rest of the film.
Overall, Vertigo is a superb film. It's acting, effects, music, set pieces, and script are all fantastic. While I have some issues with Scottie's nightmare sequence, the rest of the film is a cut above the rest and if you enjoy a good unconventional mystery, then you'll get a kick out of this film.
10/10. Grade: A