Vertigo Movie Review (1958)

A classic 50s film about a man hired to keep an eye on a woman having a mental health crisis, Vertigo is an excellent example of Hitchcock’s ability to build suspense.

Alfred Hitchcock is a director who- left a clear mark in cinema. Among other things, he was able to create a slow building tension in his films that others recognized and ran with in later years. His closeups and camera movements are notable, but when you watch the films now, some haven’t aged quite as well as others.

Vertigo centers around John “Scottie” Ferguson, a detective with acrophobia (an extreme fear of heights) who has recently witnessed a fellow police officer fall to his death because he became paralyzed with fear and couldn’t help the man. While recovering from that awful situation, he is approached by an old friend, Gavin Elster, who says that his wife, Madeline, goes into fugue states. She suddenly believes that she is a woman from an old portrait, Carlotta, who notably committed suicide when she was 26. Madeline is 26 right now, so Gavin asks Scottie to follow her out of fear that she will also commit suicide while believing that she is Carlotta.

Let me be candid – I enjoy Alfred Hitchcock films from a historical perspective, but I have never found them to be my “thing.” I keep trying, and I will eventually watch them all, but I have yet to find one that I’ve completely attached to. That being said, just as with any of my reviews, these are my thoughts only and I am not the be all and end all in reviews. This is just my humble opinion.

Based on a novel called D’entre les morts (The Living And The Dead) by Boileau-Narcejac, Hitchcock does an excellent job of building this thriller up slowly and leading the audience to conclusions that have you feeling the tension in your body. You aren’t sure what is going to happen, but based on the soundtrack, lighting, and actors, you feel like it can’t be good. That is one of Hitchcock’s major talents and it’s on full display here.

I also love how Scottie runs the gamut of emotions through the movie. He is concerned, gutted, soft, and dark at different times and it works with the tones of the film beautifully. Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak are both excellent – particularly in the closeup moments that hang for a few seconds, allowing the audience to fully connect with them.

**SPOILERS BELOW**

My biggest issue with this film is that the story has not aged well. Madeline is a 26 year old woman married to a man who appears to be twice her age. Scottie, while spending time with her, VERY quickly says that he’s in love with her and they start kissing. This is the wife of his friend AND Scottie is also twice her age, but whatever.

THEN, he meets a woman who looks like her and attempts to make her over in Madeline’s image, from head to toe. Instead of saying, “Uh, NO, you can learn to like me for who I am,” the woman allows him to continue making her over. At one point, when he wants to dye her hair, he actually says, “The color of your hair… Judy please, it can’t matter to you!” All of this left me with the ick, but I am living in 2026, so I’m trying to look past it. That said, I really want to sit down and talk to this woman about why she has such low self esteem and didn’t just tell him to bugger off.

**END SPOILERS**

Overall, Vertigo is the epitome of a Hitchcock film, with a fantastic building of suspense, even if the story leaves me with questions. Many people love this movie, and although I had no emotional investment in it, I appreciate what it did for the future of cinema, so thanks Alfred.

Runtime: 128 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: PG

Languages Spoken In The Film: English

Should You Watch It? Yes

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms