"Why did you pick on me? Why me?
---Scottie Ferguson
Alfred Hitchcock's most personal film is arguably Vertigo, his masterpiece about love, obsession, loss and psychological warfare. The main themes are said to parallel Hitchcock's own psyche: his obsession over molding beautiful blonde actresses into the unattainable "ice queens" that the director could only admire and obsess over from afar. He chose everyman actor James Stewart to portray the character of John "Scottie' Ferguson, a man who tries to mold a woman into the love he lost to supposed suicide and madness. The obsession storyline does not take place until halfway through the film, but the passion behind it is what most people take away by the end. For me, the obsession is a little off-putting, mostly because it is strange to see paternal actor Jimmy Stewart in such an unsettling role. I suppose that is part of what makes this film so great: the actors embody the characters so well that we truly believe they are playing themselves, even if they are not the people we like or relate to.
Vertigo is almost painful to watch upon third or fourth viewing because the first half is an elaborate web of deceit that will ultimately crush Scottie Ferguson's character. You sit there and you know that Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) is not at all whom she seems and you wish you could tell Jimmy Stewart to get out of her web and save himself from heartache. The film is hard to watch if you think about the love his character is building up for her, and how he will become psychologically unhinged as soon as she leaves his life. Then when the character Judy (also Kim Novak) comes into the plot, the difficulty is to sympathize with her as Scottie's obsession with the lost Madeleine takes over and he tries to make Judy into someone she is not. When he finally realizes the Madeleine he loved does not exist anymore, he reaches the ultimate point of madness and the audience is scared that Jimmy Stewart is going to do something he does not do in movies: kill someone out of pure madness.
Obsession is a dangerous but complicated part of human nature. This Hitchcock film is probably his most complex film thematically, and that is why Vertigo is recognized as his best work. I personally prefer the Hitchcock-Stewart team in Rear Window, a film about witnessing a murder but being unable to do anything about it. However, the twists and unexpected resolution in Vertigo keep it one of the most enjoyable movies to watch with someone who has not seen it before.
FUN FACT: Alfred Hitchcock appears about 11 minutes into the film, walking outside Gavin Elster's (Tom Helmore) shipyard before Scottie meets with him for the first time!
FAVORITE QUOTE: "You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing. You shouldn't have been...you shouldn't have been that sentimental."
---Scottie Ferguson, Vertigo
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