In Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, his thriller starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, issues of power, control, obsession, and identity loom large over the mysterious plot. Stewart plays Scottie, a former San Francisco detective who retired when a traumatic incident left him with a debilitating fear of heights and vertigo. He is hired as a private investigator to follow an acquaintance’s wife, Madeline, played by Kim Novak, who has recently been acting strangely.
Shot in Technicolor, Hitchcock uses the vivid colors to represent the characters. Below, a hotel sign fills the room with an eerie green light, and Scottie’s head floats in red within a dream sequence that includes colorful animation.
There are also several recurring motifs throughout the film. One of the strongest is the various spirals present throughout the film- the tree rings, Madeline’s hair and the hair of the woman in the painting, and the staircase in the mission. Of course, spirals can be dizzying, and when someone is feeling overwhelmed by their thoughts it is often referred to as “spiraling”- which Scottie is doing as the film progresses. They can also represent the cyclical nature of time.
Madeline and Scottie among the Redwood trees in Muir Woods
Madeline points to two lines marking her life.
Northern California is the backdrop and the scenes in and around San Francisco in the 1950s are stunning.
Vertigo received mixed reviews at the time of its release, but is now considered one of the best films ever made. Through his unique personal vision, Hitchcock created a world to get lost in, with new things to notice on each revisit. The film can also serve as a reminder to struggling artists to stay true to their own ideas- sometimes it takes time for a work to gain appreciation.