Promised so much, delivered so little

Rating: 5/10 (13 September 2013)

Vertigo was a film that was ahead of its time when it was released. Now however, 55 years later, it lacks the lovable endeavour it was once looked upon by. Sure, Alfred Hitchcock does what he does best in this film (and I am in no way disputing his directing talents) and full appreciation must go towards him for the visual effects and the way he uses filming techniques to show Scottie's confusement. Credit must also go to James Stewart as Scottie who seemed to be the only thing worth watching about this film. That, however is I'm afraid all the positives that can be said about this film. The first part of the movie drags with little happening and the rest of the film fails to pick up from there. Sure in 1958 this movie was full of suspense and thought provoking cinema however in this era it just seems dull and lacks the suspense needed to make it enjoyable. The fact this film is called a 'suspense thriller' is almost laughable. The film seems to meander around shots of walking and driving and stalking for a good 40 minutes, something which when the film didn't start that great in the first place doesn't help its cause. The storyline was fairly obvious as well, even for a simpleton like me to guess, in addition to the dull as ditch water dialogue (even at the time) that's teemed with it. The directing as I've mentioned is not to blame and the use of colours and sound are brilliant by Hitchcock but that cannot make up for Vertigo which promised so much and produced so very little on the big screen. I would recommend this film to Hitchcock fans but it is by no means his best film, not even close. The lack of suspense and boring storyline despite the cleverness of Hitchcock means this film has to have 5 stars