Movie Review Vertigo - 1816 Words

Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, Vertigo has captivated audiences since its release in 1958. The movie follows detective Scotty who realizes he has severe acrophobia and experiences terrifying vertigo when he is unable to catch a fellow colleague as he falls off the roof of a building while pursuing a criminal. Scotty quits the police force and is hired by an old college friend to investigate the strange activities of his wife, Madeline, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her. This storyline has twists and turns that it seems only Hitchcock would be able to create in the almost perfect mystery. However, when looking at the fine details of the movie it is clear to see there is an underlying theme being portrayed throughout the film.†¦show more content†¦However, women liked being able to support themselves, so this was not an easy task for males. Scotty is the ideal representation of the frustrated male of the 1950’s, and Madeline, Judy, and Midge are gre at representations for the women. Unless the viewer is actively looking for the subtle clues projected by Hitchcock’s characters, this theme can easily be lost in one of the greatest cinematic mysteries ever created. The aspect of the fight for power between the genders first makes its appearance with two of the movie’s main characters, Scotty and his ex-fiancà © Midge. In one of the very first scenes the characters are at Midge’s apartment and the subtle fight for dominance between males and females is evident. First, her apartment is filled with her artwork and she is working diligently on her next project. The window in her apartment practically takes up an entire wall, and outside it is a spectacular view of the city. It gives the feeling that this woman is reigning over the city, and can reach out and take anything she wants from it; an ideal that woman wanted to have during this time. This is vastly different from Scotty’s home as the viewer sees l ater in the film. His home, while spacious, has a very limited feel due to the lack of any outside view due to how dark it is outside. This gives the viewer the idea that the woman is