Vertigo
3.5/4 stars

Vertigo, on the surface, is a film that seems to be almost intentionally deceptive. It gives one all sorts of ideas, leads one to all sorts of conclusions, only to act in a manner completely different from what one expected. It starts out as a mystery, detective thriller and then halfway through switches gears and evolves into a story that examines the complexities of the human mind. Digging deeper, however, one finds two distinct themes, deception and obsession. There are several levels of deception that are present in Vertigo. The most prominent is of course Gavin Elster's (Tom Helmore) deception of detective Scottie Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart). Gavin hires him to pursue his wife, Madeline Elster (Kim Novak). Gavin convinces Scottie that his wife has been possessed by a dead spirit and requests that his old school friend agree to discreetly investigate the matter. The whole matter is a hoax, but Gavin is able to get Scottie to disregard his natural skepticism and agree to the deal. His deception of Scottie was intentional for Scottie, with his fear of heights, was perfect for Gavin's plan to murder his wife. The second instance of deception, and this leads from the first, was by Judy Barton (also Kim Novak). She deceives Scottie by pretending to be Madeline while intentionally and unintentionally playing upon his infatuation for her. The third deception is a reverse version of this, Scottie deceives Judy when he meets her a year after `Madeline's death'. She loves him, and he seems to indicate that he loves her too. But in reality he is only in love with the image of Madeline that she is able to bring out. If Scottie did not discover the truth, one wonders how their strange relationship would have evolved. The fourth instance of deception is between Gavin and Judy. She was his mistress and he had recruited her to aid him in his plan to murder his wife. However at the conclusion of their deal he discards her, leaving her with some money and jewels. The fifth deception is by Alfred Hitchcock of his audience. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, Vertigo is a film that seems intentionally manipulative. Hitchcock actively works to confuse the viewer and constantly makes Vertigo take unexpected turns.

Review by Wolfman