It is the viewers' attachment with the film that makes "Vertigo" a true masterpiece...

Rating: 10/10 (26 November 2009)

Alfred Hitchcock is considered to be one of the best directors ever put footsteps on the earth. His one of most notable film "Vertigo" (1958) is undoubtedly a masterpiece. Many of the critics keep Vertigo at the top of their list. At the time of 1st release the movie got mixed review comments (like most of the Hitchcock movies) and never got any significant awards (naturally). Later it has been re-evaluated and unanimously loved by all. The movie is about a private detective (Scottie – played by James Stewart) who will be hired by one of his old friends to follow the friend's wife (Madeleine – played by Kim Novak). No, she is not cheating her husband. But everyday she used to take her husband's car and roams about the city randomly; but it seems she could not recall it - she don't even know about it. So Scottie's (our hero) job is to see what she does throughout the day. Hitchcock had an awesome ability to attract all sort of viewers. No one else could have been able to keep suspense throughout the film like him. It is probably because he could make the viewers to be a character of his film. In this film also we, the viewers, takes the place of Scottie when he follows her by car, keep a close eye on what she is doing. Thus Hitchcock made the viewers to become a part of "Vertigo". Viewers become active characters of the movie. Scottie has vertigo. If you search dictionary you will get the meaning: "A sensation of whirling or falling". But Salman Rushdie once told that "Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall". This definition probably fits better in context of this movie. A fellow policeman of Scottie died falling from a roof while they were chasing a criminal. That policeman actually was trying to save Scottie's life. Since then Scottie had developed his acrophobia. The movie starts with that incident. After that he has been hired by his friend, he saves life of Madeleine once and in unavoidable circumstances yes, he falls in love with her. ("Falls" in love! How appropriate is the expression in this movie!!!) I will not spoil your viewing by telling more. In the middle there is a twist. Near the end of the movie we see Scottie has overcome his vertigo. But that incident is followed by another one – very similar to the 1st scene of the movie – someone falls from the top and dies. The 1st incident creates the vertigo of Scottie; the 2nd incident is closely related with the way he has overcome his vertigo. Will the 2nd incident create another vertigo in Scottie's head? Hitchcock did not provide us the answer. The whole movie is like an endless spiral staircase. As the movie progresses we fall more and more into the spiral. We see 3 people die in the movie – all of them by falling from top. I have told that the 1st and last one is thematically very similar. So are the 2nd and last one. Scottie believes he is responsible (which he is not) for the 2nd death; so he tried to overcome that guilty feeling. That only brings in the 3rd death – this time he is the responsible person. When the movie credits are being shown camera zooms into an eye of Madeleine. After we (mind it, we – the viewers – the characters of Hitchcock's movie) enter the eye of Madeleine we see spirals of different colors. The credits roll on. And at the end of the credit camera zooms out the eye. But will Scottie be ever able to leave the spiral puzzle within his head? Can he forget Madeleine, her eyes, her blonde hair (another Hitchcockian theme), her dress, her necklace, and the way she used to decorate her hair? May be not. And so do us. If we try to uncover vertigo, the film, we will only push ourselves further into the dark dungeon. We may see a light in front of us. We may start thinking that we have uncovered vertigo. But only till we understand the light is only the beginning of another dungeon. It is the viewers' attachment with the film that makes "Vertigo" so fascinating, so captive, so provocative and a true masterpiece. "Vertigo" will also be remembered for a unique technique – "Dolly Zoom". In this technique "the camera is pulled away from a subject whilst the lens zooms in, or vice-versa. Thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject" (excerpts from Wikipedia). This technique is also known as "Vertigo Zoom" or "Vertigo Effect". Many film directors have used this technique since then. It has become quite a cliché now. And don't forget the character of Midge. She is just opposite to what Madeleine is. She is not-so-good looking, single and unfortunately in love with Scottie. She is the 1st step of the ladder which Scottie can easily climb without any problem. But Madeleine is at 3 or 4 steps up the ladder. And as the definition of vertigo goes ("the desire to fall") Scottie wants Madeleine only. I have a theory that the 2nd part of the film is all within Scottie's head; it is in his dream; it is not real. It is only because the 2nd half starts so abruptly and Midge is surprisingly absent in the 2nd half. Another scene of the movie really captivates me. It is the scene when Scottie and Madeleine go to see the coastal redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument. There is something special about the scene which I cannot explain. Or there may be nothing like that. It is only in my mind! Probably it is the effect of vertigo! Man! I should stop thinking about the film now!!!