A classic that lives up to its reputation

Rating: 8/10 (13 September 2013)

Vertigo is like a roller-coaster. Not a good roller coaster, the type of roller coaster that takes half an hour to get up to the top and then when it finally gets to the first drop it starts to pick up speed before grinding to a sudden halt again.
Vertigo was written by Alfred Hitchcock and released in theatres in 1958. The film is regarded as a classic and commonly seen as some of Hitchcock's best work, and honestly, after watching I can understand how people where able to come to this conclusion. The majority of the main cast is excellent, but the standout actor for me was certainly James Stewart plays our main character, John Ferguson, who deserves a large amount of praise for how convincingly he played his role throughout the film, as he changes from a sympathetic protagonist into a rather obsessive crazy psychopath driven by his grief throughout the film.
The film overall has a very strong plot with numerous unpredictable twists throughout that I would not even dare spoil. However in many ways the movie's age shows. Nowhere is this clearer than in the dated special effects in the film and the incredibly cheesy soundtrack that many of the older Hitchcock films are known for. Personally I do not have a problem either of these, as I find these aspects add to the classic feeling of the film; however, I can see it putting off some potential viewers.
The only problem I had with the film was, as I mentioned above, is the films pacing. The film starts incredibly slow and is rather boring for the first thirty minutes before it begins picking up pace, however it then grinds to a second halt later on after the courtroom scene for another half hour before it finally picks up again for the climax of the film. While I can certainly forgive this in some ways, since the film is very entertaining when it is going at a decent pace, I still felt that it was quite jarring at several points during the movie.
Overall I did enjoy Vertigo lot despite some issues I had with the pacing, but even with that issue I still feel that the film is a very entertaining watch, due to its unpredictable plot and the strong performances delivered by the lead actors. It is due to this that I am willing to rate Vertigo as an 8/10.