Classic Hitch Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 1999)

Vertigo is a special kind of film. This is because it doesn't follow the usual way a film is presented to the viewer. Rather than having the main suspense near the end of the film, Vertigo has this high level of suspense at both the end and middle of the film. Few could have pulled this off quite as well as Hitch.
I really liked this film in the stylish way it was presented. Time is not overly spent getting into the characters here, they are simply presented for who they are leaving the judgement up to the viewer. The "Vertigo" special effect and the nightmare sequence were done like nothing I have ever seen for a film of this time and are enchanting and timeless. The plot and storyline of this film are both original and not cliched. The audience is taken by surprise during the middle of the film and from there on the film becomes even more suspenseful.
Jimmy Stewart put another of his great performances into this film and played well opposite Kim Novak's dark and confused character. Stewart shows the full range of emotions as he is taken by the alluring Madeline (Novak) and is driven to a deep depression. Novak had been criticized for playing her role too darkly which is a claim I find completely unfounded. For a woman who is going through so much stress (or at least we are to believe that), she plays as well as this role could have been done. The interesting thing about the performances in this film is how much time Stewart and Novak are on the screen. For 95% of the film, there is not another character to add anything else to the plot. Other than Barbara Bel Geddes, who gives a short, supporting performance, the film revolves around the realtionship between Ferguson (Stewart) and Madeline.
I must say that I enjoyed this film just as much as Rear Window and would even put this one above North by Northwest. Hitchcock does suspense so well and is quite obvious to see why he is imitated so much. A recommendation to all.
8/10 stars.