A Genius at Work

Rating: 10/10 (25 August 2002)

So many of Hitch's films deal with physical vertigo - high, revolving camera shots, monumental manmade structures from which so many erstwhile Hitchcock characters periliously hang. However, in this one, not only does the hero struggle with his physical vertigo, but he becomes hopelessly mired in a mental verigo from which there is no reprieve. No hand will ever reach into that darkness to pull him to safety.
Scotty's inability to release Madeleine mirrors the obsessive madness of Mrs. Danvers as she stirs up the ghost of Rebecca. And like Mrs. Danvers, the obsession eventually tragically overtakes and consumes him.
Psycho may well be considered Hitch's best film, but Vertigo is certainly his most stylish and stylized.