Vertigo: A Film about Manipulation of Beliefs
Vertigo is a film by Alfred Hitchcock, who is dubbed ‘the master of suspense.’ It has its fair share of suspense, although the core message is about the mental manipulation that can happen in our daily lives, in the society, and amongst those who think they are immune to such. My thesis works around the supposition that the film is about manipulation of beliefs. It has the significance here of letting the viewer know that we are trapped, even without feeling or seeing the shackles. We are trapped, and the manipulation is a swirl of madness that will cause us to detach with our real sense of self and identity.
Love and Obsession in Vertigo
The movie is about Scottie Ferguson who had fallen in love with Madeleine. Love obsesses the two. Obsession is evidenced by Scottie and Madeleine whereby, Scottie he was hounded by Madeleine. On the other hand, the Madeleine is obsessed by Carlota Valdez who had some years ago. Vertigo expresses a story of acrophobic detectives there is impersonation for example; Carlotta is impersonated by Judy Barton (Barnett 92). The movies describe how after retiring, Scottie is hired by Madeleine's husband to follow Madeleine who claims to experience very mysterious and daring attraction with Carlotta Valdes (Blennerhassett 56). Scottie falls in love during the periods of silent visits to San Francisco, but unfortunately, he lost her as result of preordained fortune (Ravetto-Biagioli 123). Scottie encountered Judy Barton, and he remakes her as the Madeleine (Ravetto-Biagioli 125). The movie shows how miss Novak's Judy pleaded for redemption to get a second chance which brings a lot of sympathies that makes the film end up with uncertain heartbreak.
The Central Themes of Vertigo
The central idea of the movie is to bring the theme of love, guilt, obsession, madness, supernatural and versions of reality to the attention of the audience. Alfred Hitchcock explains that love associated with vertigo is unworthy; hence Vertigo is expressed as a symptom. Scottie kissed Madeleine at the beach, and he falls in love with Judy where Judy writes a love letter to him. The Midge shows madness, and she's said to be mad at her (Hinton 18). Through Madeleine, supernatural aspect is portrayed in that, the ghost of the late Carlotta appeared to her. Madeleine's expression about supernatural convinced Scottie who later believed her. At long last, Scottie failed to differentiate reality from ghost tales. The issue of guilt is shown when Scottie falls and dies. The guilt made Scottie have acrophobia (Hinton 21). The film arouses stronger emotional feelings in the audience Vertigo is entrenched in film model full of mental and relational images, symbolism female body among others as discussed in the paper.
The Impact of Music, Cinematography, and Editing in Vertigo
The music supported the mood of the movie because it was drastic and adds quality to production and work with the script. Alfred Hitchcock considered the score music in vertigo as the best way to convey emotions than the images. The classical music wakes Scottie up with clear sound patterns used throughout the movie. The soundtracks in the film played their role as the compelling characters (Friddle 12). The shots were used uniquely with the coloring and lighting affecting the tone positively by capturing the audience's attention. The action was coherently shot with simultaneous zooming of dolly creating a visual impact (Friddle 14). In the movie, their camera and its associated movement correlated with the story to the audiences because vertigo becomes famous due to the use of cinematography.
Believable Settings, Costumes, and Special Effects in Vertigo
The settings were lively and believable not only to the story but also to the characters. Besides, the costumes were suitable for both characters and story to capture the attention of the audience. The special effects were believable because they were aligned with the error and the tone of the movie (Blennerhassett 61).
Effective Editing and Conversations in Vertigo
The editing was apparent with the consistent flow of ideas with each event linking and leading to another one. The flow of the movie as well is good. It was neither too faster nor too slow with clear organization and with the good connection of thoughts whereby, one event leads to another. Minimal scenes slowed the pace of the movie since they were accompanied by music which led to suspense (Blennerhassett 63). The conversations were believable and necessary, and in the Elster's office, Scottie was seen discussing Elster's job. Scottie holds a discussion with midge at Midge’s apartment and debating about acrophobia which promotes plot development. The words matched the tone of the movie and the personality of the characters.
Conclusion
In sum, vertigo, which is one of the few genuinely iconic films Hitchcock ever made, is a raw personal confessional, a tool he used to borrow inspiration for his art. It is about how Hitchcock himself exploited and to control women. Different aspects of vertigo correlate together retaining the suspense throughout the film, and thus it qualifies to be the best movie with every event happening as planned. The film wants us to focus on our lives as well as caring for our friends. The film leaves the audience in suspense. The film should be watched because it reflects the nature experiences of human society.
Works cited
Barnett, Vincent L. "Dualling for Judy: The concept of the double in the films of Kim Novak." Film History: An International Journal 19.1 (2007): 86-101.
Blennerhassett, Richard. "Vertigo: Out of the Past." Psychological Perspectives 54.1 (2011): 54-65.
Friddle, Megan. "Hitchcock’s Women: Reconsidering Blondes and Brunettes." Interdisciplinary Humanities 32 (2015): 103-116.
Hinton, Laura. "A" Woman's" View: The" Vertigo" Frame-Up." Film Criticism 19.2 (1994): 2-22.
Ravetto-Biagioli, Kriss. "Vertigo and the vertiginous history of film theory." Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies 25.3 (75) (2011): 101-141.
