Vertigo (1958)

Preamble

I am watching this out of order becuase something went screwy with my copy of Ikiru, but I thought I better use the time. Be warned, in what follows there are likely to be SPOILERS - so if you haven't yet seen the film, you might not want to read the review.

What I Already Knew

It's a Hitchcock film, and has someting to do with a bloke who suffers from vertigo - that's pretty much it. A lot of people rave about it, but I have managed to avoid picking up any of the detail somehow.

Review

In what appears to be an emerging theme, something stood out from the credits. This was the fact that Mrs Worm shouted out 'Barbara Bel Geddes!' from the background - who it turns out played Miss Ellie in Dallas - you live and learn.

I have to say that the opening to this film left me cold. The credits struck me as a cut-price James Bond sequence, and the initial chase across the rooftop scene, seemed staged. Of course it was staged - it's a film - but it shoudn't feel like it.

James Stewart then starts working his magic, and he does a very good job. He is affable, funny, caustic where required, and likeable. He appears to live in a brown suit and hat - but you can't really hold that against him. As the film progresses, Stewart's character of Scottie becomes increasingly obsessive and wild-eyed - but I'm not sure that it really comes across in Stewart's portrayal, execpt in brief flashes.

Far more convincing characterisation comes from Kim Novak as Madeleine, who is stark and astere, but beguiling and vulnerable when the plot moves along. I didn't warm to her at first, but in the latter stages of the film, when she had more to do, I could see the strength of her performance.

Unfortunately, a good performance from Novak is not enough to carry what follows, which is - frankly - a pretty plodding development of a plot. There are too many questions to answer, and too many moments that stand out for me. There is a naivity in some of the plot development that I find hard to square with a 'great' film. I don't want to get into the business of listing faults - but I noted at least half a dozen. As I have stated before, I'm not a massive film buff, so if things stand out to me, they are generally pretty blatent. In fact, for a long time, the only dramatic and suspenseful part of the film is the music, which is beautifully arranged, but seems somewhat at odds with what is actually happening on screen. What is happening looks stunning, with some great sets and scenes, let down by dodgy rear-projection car scences, but that was pretty much state of the art at the time, so I'll live with it.

The real failing for me comes when Scottie and Madeleine fall madly in love. For apparently no reason. Even bearing in mind the back story which emerges later, I'm just not convinced. It seems to come out of nowhere, stemming purely from the fact that she is clearly a very attractive woman. Scotty knows that she's married (although it never appears to be mentioned apart from once) and doens't seem concerned about the underlying reasons for her 'problem' so much as giving her a good snog every now and then. It really stood out as a jarring development for me.

As with Casablanca, a 'supporting' role stands out, and I think I should note a solid performance by the aforementioned Barbara Bel Geddes as Midge. Although she's done up to look like a slightly more glamorous version of Velma from Scooby Doo, she creates as much as a character as she can with what screen time she has, and I'm not sure why Scottie isn't content with Midge?

In the latter part of the film, of course, everything changes and you realise what happened. It's a good plot twist - though hardly original. From this moment, the film actually comes alive. The characters start to develop and interact. Stewart plays Scottie well - he may be haunted, damaged and slightly creepy, but at least he's well portrayed, and Novak comes into her own - playing both sides of a trapped but infatuated woman with real skill.

The payoff is a bleak and nervy ending - quite a change for standard Hollywood fodder, but by reputation I think it is what you would expect from Hitchcock. It's not entirely convincing, but it works well in comparison with the rest of the film.

In summary, I felt like I got a 90-minute episode of Columbo, followed by 30 minutes of good film-making. Is this a 'great' film? I can't see it myself. Oh I'm sure lots of people will claim I just don't 'get it', and I can see a lot of the value in the underlying themes of obsession and control, but it didn't grab me until the last 30 minutes, which is a bit long to wait. Sorry.

Rating : Rent it

Mrs Worm's Opinion

"I'm going to bed"(and she did...)

Useful links

IMDB | Roger Ebert | MRQE