Kyle Skillington

Professor Welch

ENC 2135

24 September 2022

“Vertigo” Film Review

“’What have you been doing’” followed by “’wandering’” echoes the very sole of the

1958 film Vertigo. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Vertigo stars James Stewart as the retired

detective John “Scottie” Ferguson and Kim Novak as the mysterious Madeleine Elster in a

twisted tale of shrouded identities and hidden intentions. The film takes the viewer on an

emotional rollercoaster as it delves into the ideas of deceit, murder, identity, and desire that serve

as the driving forces to this film’s plot.

Alfred Hitchcock serves in the director’s chair, which automatically gives this film the

unique feel and experience that only comes from a Hitchcock film. Similar to many of his other

feature films, including Psycho and The Birds, of which are also considered to be two of the

greatest films within the horror or thriller subgenre, Vertigo leaves the audience in the dark for

much of the film. With Novak’s Madeleine being the main source of this mystery, the audience

understands as detective Ferguson does, never straying too far ahead or behind what is known or

unknown. This is played out through the score and overall sound design of the film, which was

done by Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Hitchcock chooses to rely

heavily on the mood set by the score and utilize it to create a deeper sense of misdirection and

mystery as the audience is stunned by revelations or left wondering after a mysterious incident,

such as Madeleine suddenly disappearing in the McKittrick Hotel. This direction choice is a
great addition from Hitchcock as it avoids being too upfront with information through character

dialogue and allows the audience to form their own beliefs or predictions about the film before

being shocked later on.

The film Vertigo follows detective John Ferguson, or Scottie as he is known by his close

friends. John developed acrophobia, a fear of heights, after an incident that was shown in a cold

open; a police officer, who was attempting to help John after slipping on a rooftop during a

criminal chase, fell himself and died indirectly from John. This weighs heavily on John

throughout the film and led to his retirement as a detective. During this, he is invited by his old

college friend Galvin Elster to meet and talk, during which Gavin asks John to follow his wife,

Madeleine, who he suspects is being “possessed” by someone else. Begrudgingly, John accepts

and begins to follow Madeleine around, noticing that she does, in fact, seem to diverge from her

personality and become someone else for moments in the day. This “other person” is revealed to

be someone in Madeleine’s family history, who met a tragic end and lingered within the family

stigma. As John continues to follow Madeleine, even needing to intervene in one instance in the

San Francisco Bay, he begins to develop an obsession with her. Despite being his friend’s wife,

he finds himself captivated by her as he seeks to carve out the perfect woman for him from this

perceived other personality within Madeleine. As the story progresses, the obsession blinds John

to the unsee acts that have been transpiring all along and John is eventually caught in between

his friend, Gavin, his wife, Madeleine, and a shocking third party which turns the film on it’s

head. Overall, Vertigo follows in the footsteps of Hitchcock’s other classic films as it stuns the

audience in its final moments and leaves them guessing the whole way through. It is easy to

understand why this film is considered a modern classic, as it spins the tale of lust and desire that

has existed throughout human history into a mysterious thriller with elements of romance
intertwined. It is a combination of the age in which this was filmed as well as the manner in

which the content was executed that lends itself to solidifying Vertigo as a classic and one of the

great moves of our time.