VERTIGO - Detailed Narrative Events

“Vertigo seems to me of all Hitchcock’s films the one nearest to perfection. Indeed, its profundity is inseparable from the perfection of form: it is a perfect organism.”

                                                                            – Robin Wood, noted Film Studies critic, scholar & author of Hitchcock’s Films (1965)

Example exam question:

Explore the importance of narrative structure in the development of key themes and ideas in Vertigo.

Lesson objective: To be introduced to Vertigo, consider the various elements of film that help to create meaning and subtext, and make predictions about the overall theme of the film.

Key Terms: Cinéma Pur (French for "Pure Cinema") was an avant-garde film movement begun by filmmakers, like René Clair, who "wanted to return the medium to its elemental origins" of "vision and movement."

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Starter: A Film Noir Narrative: Overall, the narrative of Vertigo contains many of the conventions of Film Noir. List the conventions that you can of Film Noir.

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Narrative Form – Three Acts, Two Halves & Spiral: Although we can breakdown Vertigo in terms of Syd Field’s three acts, it is also helpful to think of the film in two halves, with Madeleine’s ‘suicide’ as the middle point.

Academics have also argued that the narrative of Vertigo is shaped like a spiral. 

This complex explanation can be broken down like this: 

The film starts with Scottie being unable to save his fellow police officer from falling to his death. The film’s midpoint is marked by Scottie failing to save Madeleine. Saving her would have helped him complete a narrative circle, by achieving something he failed to do in the past. 

He fails, and so ‘spirals’ into a psychological breakdown. He is given another opportunity in act three, an opportunity to save Judy as she falls from the bell tower. 

However, he fails again, and thus the circle does not complete once more, and instead the spiral continues and we understand that he is lost to the psychological depths of his grief and loss.

A Film Noir Narrative: Overall, the narrative contains many of the conventions of Film Noir. There is a private detective (or at least a retired police detective working freelance) who is drawn into a plot, that ultimately destroys him, by a femme fatale. The femme fatale is also punished for her part in the protagonist’s downfall.

Plot Points: “A plot point is a juncture in a film narrative where the action takes a different direction. Things rapidly shift, and the audience is put to new interpretive tasks. Films require two plot points and can tolerate up to four, but more than two requires some in-flight re-fuelling.”  (Kunze, 2010)

Theorist Syd Field suggested that the plot points should occur around the act breaks.

However, Vertigo doesn’t adhere to Field’s idea.

As Vertigo has a complex narrative, there are four main plot points. They are:

1. The first meeting Scottie has with Elster where Madeleine’s curious behaviour is first outlined and Scottie is tasked with observing her;
2. The scene in Scottie’s apartment following his rescue of Madeleine. This is the first scene where they directly interact and a personal relationship is established;
3. Scottie’s failure to stop Madeleine’s apparent suicide;
4. The scene where Judy reveals the truth in writing a letter to Scottie and explaining her part in his deception and the real Madeleine’s murder.

It is important that you start viewing a film as an artistic medium just as culturally significant as a literary work.

Hitchcock decides to break the first law of mystery writing and give away the 'surprise' two-thirds of the way through. What difference does the revelation make? (it is a daring move, which risks making the audience feel that they have been cheated). 

Up until then, we've identified ourselves with Scottie's weaknesses and desires; confronted with a double shock (not only is Madeleine dead, but she never existed) we now have to shift our position and separate ourselves from Scottie's perspective, no longer just sharing Scottie's feelings but now wondering how he will react - torn ourselves between wanting a return of the dream and wanting to see how he will cope with a discovery of the fraud ('Knowing the truth, we...have far more opportunity...to consider the implications of what we see').

Task 1: Consider the various elements of film that help to create meaning and subtext, and make predictions about the overall theme of the film.

Watch Vertigo 00:00 - 31:00

Answer the following questions:

How do movies create meaning? 

How do we know what a movie is supposed to be about? 

How do we know how we should feel about each of the characters? 

Consider the following:

- Midge’s eye movements when Johnny talks about their romantic past. What is going on beneath the surface here? What is Midge thinking about? What is their relationship like now?

What is the function of Midge? (in relation to modern culture she is practical, realistic, emancipated, sane, healthy, 'motherly', though limited in being devoid of mystery, and in reducing everything to a matter-of-fact level - not satisfactory for Scottie,

-  The colors in Ernie’s restaurant – the overwhelming red interior, Madeline’s green dress.

- The close up of Madeline’s face in profile, like a portrait painting – how does John see her?

In the scene at Ernie’s Madeleine walks into the bar, lighting is used to highlight her in the frame and there is a push in on her face. The camera pushes in tighter onto her face. Hitchcock is actively drawing all eyes to her; your gaze is directed by him. This mirrors the way that Scottie’s eye is drawn to her as well. However, he must avert his gaze in an effort to remain covert. We get the unrestricted view that Scottie craves,  we are positioned to revel in this moment of pause in front of the camera, as she is presented in profile with the climactic moment in the musical score and the increased intensity in the background. We are positioned to view her as Scottie views her, to understand his motivation to investigate her actions has been lifted out of the mundane.

- The extreme brightness and hazy fog in the flower shop and the cemetery. What effect does this have on the audience? How does this make us (and John) view Madeline? 

-Identify any examples of “pure cinema” – scenes without any dialogue or voiceover, where only the non verbal elements visual and musical tell the story.

The spectator and the cinematic image

Some critics have explained that Vertigo can be read as a metaphor for the relationship between the spectator and the cinematic image. 

Perhaps the simplest application of this idea is to suggest that Scottie represents us, the audience, the spectator and the constructed version of Madeleine represents the cinematic image. She is created to be alluring and seductive, but she is a façade. 

She is not even a reflection of the ‘real’ Madeleine, but a creation of Elster (the director, who controls the action from off screen) designed to enchant and enthral Scottie. 

 The scenes which see ‘Madeleine’ viewing the painting of Carlotta, with Scottie watching from the shadows provide a visual representation of this idea. Vertigo has metatextuality meaning that it places emphasis on its status as a film text, and asks the audience to consider their relationship with it and with cinema more generally.

If you are starting to look at a film not just for entertainment value, but critically for artistic merit, and using the film terms when discussing it, then today was successful. 

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Lesson 2

Themes in Vertigo

Hitchcock was influenced by the ideas of the founder of Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. 

Therefore, many of the themes in Vertigo reflect Freud’s ideas.

Obsession: The principal manifestations of this theme are evident in Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine and desire to ‘cure’ her of her delusions. However, the theme of obsession escalates when Scottie meets Judy and becomes set on recreating the ‘Madeleine’ he lost.

Voyeurism: At its simplest, voyeurism refers to the idea of watching. It has associations with watching someone, often without their knowledge and for sexual pleasure. Scottie is employed to follow Madeleine, he is a professional observer, as Elster has employed him to do just this. However, we quickly understand that his interest in her becomes more than just professional. Hitchcock often shows Scottie following Madeleine at a distance, with barriers separating them. In the case of the scenes in the gallery, Hitchcock places Scottie in the shadows and has Madeleine illuminated, further emphasising the relationship of observer and the observed, as well as providing more evidence for the reading of the film as a metaphor for the relationship between cinematic spectator and cinematic image.

Desire: Scottie and Madeleine begin an apparent love affair that’s based in fear and fueled by desire. The desire presented in the film is not only sexual, but also of a psychosexual nature. Madeleine is highly attractive physically, but she is also compelling in terms of the mystery she represents – a final case for Scottie to solve and someone to save as amends, perhaps, for when he could not save his fellow officer. Scottie will become Madeleine’s saviour, thereby saving himself.

38:00-1:02:00 – Scottie saves Madeline from drowning. He brings her to his apartment and becomes increasingly enamoured with her. Later, they visit the Sequoia National Park together and kiss on the beach. Madeline becomes more obsessed with her own death. 

What are the differences between love, desire and obsession? 

Do you think that Scottie is in love with Madeline, or obsessed with her? 

Why is he so attracted to her? 

Do you think she feels the same way about him? 

Why or why not?

Task: In groups, and to try and answer the question: “How does (sound, acting, etc.) contribute to the themes of desire and obsession in Vertigo?” 

Areas:

• cinematography
• sound
• costume & set design
• acting

Some moments in the scenes to focus on:

- Composition of the scene where Madeline jumps into the Bay – her small black silhouette underneath the immense Golden Gate Bridge, the scattered flower petals, Scottie carrying her seemingly lifeless body.

- Dishevelled Madeline in Scottie’s bed, her underwear hanging suggestively in his kitchen. She dons Scottie’s bright red robe, red being a colour used to represent passion and danger. Scottie is now wearing a green sweater, the colour used to represent Madeline so far.

- Point of view – shots of Madeline are almost entirely from Scottie’s perspective. He is always above her, suggesting his dominance and possession of her character. Madeline sits, lies down, whereas Scottie stands and paces. Madeline walks slowly, as if in a trance.

-Scottie’s shaking hands when he hands her the teacup and saucer, implying his nervous desire.

- The extreme darkness and haze in the forest scene.

-The brightness in the ocean scene, the coincidental ocean crash with Scottie and Madeline’s kiss. Too much of a cliché? Or used for emotional intensity?