Reality In Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

Few films can claim so much widespread fascination as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It captivated viewers in 1958 when it was originally released, but has since gained a status among critics as one of the greatest films of all time. Decades after its original release, Vertigo still captivates viewers. The reason people are so consistently fascinated with this movie is because they are intrigued by its exploration of reality. The brilliance of Vertigo lies in its unnatural way of dealing with reality. The beginning of Vertigo establishes a fantastical atmosphere, setting the tone for the entire movie. The film’s opening scene leaves Scottie dangling over the place where his fellow police officer has just fallen to his death. In the next scene,

It is unclear exactly what point Scottie realizes that Madeleine and Judy are the same woman, but the process of realization begins when he sees Carlotta’s necklace on Judy. During the time between his noticing the necklace and his decision to drive to the mission, it can be assumed that he figures out Elster’s plot and Judy’s role in it. The effect of the revelation isn’t instantly dramatic. Scottie is already beginning to seem insane, even before he notices the necklace. But the audience comes to fully realize the extent of Scottie’s deteriorating psychological state in the scene where he and Judy climb the bell tower and he reveals to her that he knows her true identity. This scene, made disturbing by James Stewart’s acting, finally shows the dramatic effect that Scottie’s realization has had on him. For the entire movie, Hitchcock has placed the audience in Scottie’s position and made them sympathize with the character. This no longer applies for the last few scenes because, for the first time in the film, the audience knows more than Scottie. Since viewers’ minds are not occupied with working out the details of the complicated plot, which they already know, they must consider what their own reaction would be in a similar situation. Charles Barr says, “Most critics are hard on Scottie for being, as Truffaut put it, a ‘maniac.’ He is indeed frightening both in his insistence on making Judy over (‘It can’t matter to you’), and, after the necklace scene, in his controlled and sustained vindictiveness. But, to state the obvious, he has a lot to be vindictive about, in view of what he has discovered about the plot in which he was both a tool and victim, and in which Judy was an accomplice” (98). This passage is particularly insightful because it sheds light on the fact that Scottie is more relatable of a character than many people would like to believe. His entire