There's plenty of Alfred Hitchcock films I'm yet to see so why did I pick Vertigo? Simply because it is regarded as a masterpiece and stars James Stewart. Yes, I'm that shallow. But also, Stewart was terrific in Rear Window, which is easily my favourite Hitchcock film, so I figured I'd play it safe with it. I was wrong as, while it's not terrible, the film is far from being the masterpiece I was expecting.
The film opens with a rooftop chase with a tragic ending — a policeman falls to his death because detective John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) has a sudden attack of vertigo and can't help his colleague.
Subsequently, he retires from the forces and, as tries to conquer his fear, an old friend from college, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), asks him to follow his wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), as he fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide as she is acting like she has been possessed by her great-grandmother, who Madeleine knows nothing about, but Gavin knows committed suicide at the age of twenty-six, Madeleine's current age.
Scottie is sceptical but agrees to the assignment and, after rescuing her from an apparent suicide attempt in the San Francisco bay, he gets to know her and falls in love with her.
One of the issues I had with Vertigo is the writing. Story-wise, it starts out pretty well as it's compelling and engaging but, unfortunately, as it unfolds, there just are predictable twists, too much fake drama and a contrived romance. The characters are shallow, unbelievable and uninteresting, hence I didn't care for any of them. As for the dialogue, there's a lot of bland and banal exchanges between the characters throughout the film, especially when Scottie is interacting with her ex-fiancée and now friend Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes).
And then the direction. I can't believe Hitchcock directed this film because there's almost a complete lack of suspense as the only exciting and tense moment is the rooftop chase at the beginning of the film.
That being said, there are still aspects of Vertigo I enjoyed. The performances, both from Stewart and Novak, are more than solid and make the film a little more watchable. The cinematography is very beautiful, and Bernard Hermann's musical score sets the atmosphere while also emphasising the characters' mood swings.
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