Vertigo
d. Alfred Hitchcock, 1958
For the most part, it isn't very hard to write about films. During the viewing process one develops certain opinions on different aspects of the movie. But, every once in a while, there's a movie that eludes criticism. For me it's usually the films I love the most. It's more difficult for me to explain why I love, say, Jules and Jim so much than why I admire the work of John Cassavetes. The same goes for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, which has been my favorite movie for quite some time. Yes, I can watch it endlessly, but what about is so captivating and mysterious that it seems to tower above all other films?
I'm not exactly sure that I'm yet ready to answer that question, but this "review" will serve as a series of reasons to why I cherish this film. First, it's certainly one of the most beautiful color films ever made, and Hitchcock's visual style has never been better. Everything from the famous zoom-in as the camera is pulled back right down to the final shot is absolutely incredible. Then there's the unforgettable Bernard Herrmann music, and Vertigo's is arguable his best score.
Briefly, Vertigo is about Scottie (James Stewart), a retired detective who is hired by his old college friend Gavin (Tom Helmore) to spy on his wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak). That's pretty much all one should know before watching Vertigo for the first time, as it features some of the craziest plot twists in the history of movies.
There's a fantastic sequence in Chris Marker's essay film Sans soleil where he revisits several places Hitchcock used Vertigo, Marker talks about the film's ability to represent something he calls "impossible memory," referring to the way Madeleine knows so much about someone she should never have met. There are a lot of questions left up to the viewer at the end of Vertigo, some that are never really answered, no matter how many times you watch it (Marker has seen it 17 times according to Sans soleil).
Basically, every film lover has a movie that for them summarizes all the reasons why they love film in the first place. Without a doubt, Vertigo is that film for me. And if I can't articulate my reasons for it, then maybe it's only appropiate.
