A masterpiece that still holds up today, despite a few flaws.

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2018)

Despite being 60 years old, Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' still holds up today. Its breathtaking use of colour and camera work to tell the story is excellently anchored by Bernard Herrman's majestic score and some masterful performances by James Stewart and Kim Novak. The film perfectly conveys the theme of voyeurism, thanks to Hitchcock's amazing use of the shot-reverse-shot structure and eye-line matches, to place us inside the head of Scottie, who we begin to discover may not be the person whom we should be rooting for. The themes that 'Vertigo' explore are definitely ahead of their time, and it is confounding that Hitchcock actually managed to sneak them into this studio film. The story takes some genuinely unexpected turns and Hitchcock cleverly allows the audience to be one-step ahead of the characters, in order to create tension and excitement. Although the film does include some heavy exposition, Hitchcock's use of visual storytelling (especially in the first act) makes up for it, and this makes the film require much more thought than many from its time. My main issue with the film is its somewhat quick conclusion. A little more time to digest what is happening would have made the ending more satisfying. Still, 'Vertigo' is definitely a great film and, in my opinion, Hitchcock's best. 8/10