Just misses being a masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2004)

I know that many people consider this Hitchcock's masterpiece, and some consider it the greatest film of all time. True, it has many elements of a masterpiece. It is a major mood piece. The sad, elegaic melancholy is sustained throughout, thanks largely to Bernard Hermann's score. The acting is first rate, even by Novak. The color is masterful. All this having been said, why then do I say that this just misses being a masterpiece. Because, to me, the film has a serious flaw which mars the film, although it doesn't destroy it. The flaw occurs in the scene that occurs about halfway through the film, after Madeline has been dead for a year, when Scotty meets Judy Barton, also played by Novak. After Scotty brings her back to her hotel room and says goodnight, Judy begins an internal monologue, accompanied by a visual flashback, that gives away the whole plot. After this, there is no more suspense! The viewer knows something that Scotty doesn't. Wouldn't it have been far better for the viewer to have been kept in suspense as well and find out the truth at the same time Scotty does. If you don't believe me, watch the film again and fast forward past this scene, and see if it isn't an improvement. Otherwise, a masterpiece. 9/10