Anthony's Film Review - Vertigo (1958)

Whether it's mystery or romance, Alfred Hitchcock is a master at throwing in suspense...

As I see it, suspense is defined as the sense of anticipation that a certain thing is going to happen. There is a reason that director Alfred Hitchcock is known as the Master of Suspense. He employs techniques that make the audience either wonder what will happen next or assume that a specific event will occur shortly. To explore this further, let's look at one of Hitchcock's most notable classics: the 1958 film Vertigo.

This movie stars James Stewart as John "Scottie" Ferguson, a retired San Francisco police detective with an intense fear of heights. He is asked by old college friend Gavin Elster, played by Tom Helmore, to observe his wife Madeline, played by Kim Novak, who has been exhibiting strange behavior lately. The task seems simple enough. However, it is not long before we become curious and baffled as John is.

The way Hitchcock makes us wonder is by taking us along for the ride slowly and carefully. For example, John is driving behind Madeline as she takes her car through San Francisco, before stopping in an alley. As John stops behind her in the alley, we wonder why Madeline is going into the alley in the first place. Then we see Madeline go through a door in the side of a building. As John follows quietly, we wonder where Madeline has gone. Then we see her in a flower shop, while wondering why she didn't simply use the regular shop entrance at the front. The same process of storytelling occurs as John follows Madeline to a cemetery, an art gallery, and a hotel, after which we are really wondering what is wrong with Madeline.

Hitchcock also creates suspense by having the characters behave in ways that have expected consequences. When it becomes clear from her speech patterns that Madeline is mentally ill, we worry about her safety. There is a moment where she runs towards a church. At first, we don't know why, until the masterful hand of Hitchcock presents a brief shot of the church's bell tower, making us realize that a suicide attempt is imminent. Things get even more suspenseful when John runs up the tower stairs but is slowed down by his acrophobia. Later, John encounters a woman who looks similar to Madeline and behaves in a way that makes you assume he is going to cross a line. Again, it's a moment of anticipating something.

It doesn't matter if we are seeing the film's mystery portion or its romantic portion. Hitchcock creates suspense well with both genres, and the result is the same: a constant feeling of exciting bewilderment. The more I think about it, the more I think the film's title goes beyond the story within. Vertigo doesn't just refer to John's fear of heights or Madeline's tendency to black out and go crazy. It also refers to how the presentation of the story makes the audience feel off-balance, in a good way of course.

While my praise for Vertigo lies much with the director, we cannot forget the principal stars either. James Stewart is great as a man who starts out fairly calm and becomes more worried, before a riveting performance in the final scene where he is desperate for closure. Kim Novak is also superb as well, as a woman who becomes increasing mad. Best of all, these two stars are memorable together as romance develops between the characters they play.

Overall, Vertigo is a fantastic suspense film with great direction and casting. It's also a nice tribute to the city of San Francisco, which looks gorgeous on film even as a bit of human intrigue is presented before us. It just goes to show how any lovely locale can still have an ugly underbelly. Basically, you can call Vertigo a memorable film about that city, as well as a notable piece of cinematic work for James Stewart and Kim Novak, not to mention a fine product from the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Vertigo, visit the Internet Movie Database.