The Master's Masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (29 May 2009)

It can be argued in many different ways what actually is the best film Alfred Hitchcock ever made. For my money, it is Vertigo, the masterful story of a man who finds a woman, loses her, and attempts to bring her back with harrowing results.
What makes this film so engaging, even after multiple viewings, is the way in which Hitchcock is able to bring us to sympathy with the protagonist, Scottie Ferguson, an ex-detective with some serious psychological issues. As Scottie begins to follow the wife of one of his college friends, he becomes fascinated by the icy, alluring blonde. We feel the same way. When something terrible happens to her, we feel the anguish and guilt Scottie does. Of course, none of this could be possible without the incredible performance of James Stewart, perhaps his best after the role of George Bailey. And Hitchcock makes the most of this evocative first half, told mostly in long shots and soft lighting.
The second half is more of an attempt for Scottie to rebound and when he finds a girl similar to the mysterious blonde, he finds himself trying to recreate that which is gone. Of all of Hitchcock's films, this may be the strangest with themes of necrophilia, voyeurism, and sexual obsession. Matching Stewart's incredible performance every step of the way is Kim Novak, in my mind the best of Hitchcock's blonde actresses, so beautiful yet almost forbidding in a way. Maintaining every scene with careful scrutiny and eye for detail, this may be Hitchcock's best showing as a director, and it all leads up to one of the best filmed endings in cinema history and leaves you needing to watch again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the true emotions of Scottie and Judy, or is it Madeline?