Steinbeck wrote a book entitled The Red Pony. A 4-part book, the title character dies in the first chapter and is never mentioned again. What does this have to do with the movie Vertigo? Well, not much. But I got the same kind of dissatisfaction with the title of Hitchcock's freak-tastic movie.
I understand that the dizzying condition can't be overused. I understand that there's more to the story than just said condition. But uh...there were some situations that could have merited a little bit of vertigo. For example, when Madeleine jumps into the water- it's kind of high. Was there even a hint of vertigo? No. Blah.
Moving right along, we have two, no, three creepers in the movie. The most obvious is "Scotty." Then again, I was wondering about his actual creeper-ality. Ok, yes, he did decide to hook up with his old classmate's "wife". The one he was hiredto protect. Ok, so that's bad. But who are you going to protect more than someone you love? Then she's dead, and he dates a woman who looks just like her. Ok, that's a little creepy. Then he tries to make her into dead chick. More creepy. But throughout the movie, I entertained the theory that perhaps he was trying to piece things together.
Aside from the obvious physical similarities, there's the speech. The two women speak the same way, with the same voice. That has to set off a few bells. Judy the Madeleine impersonator suggests the restaurant in which Scotty first saw "her" for a date location. DING DING DING! She flips her wig when he tries to put her in the gray suit...which she still has. I mean, really. Fail on her part.
So with all of these clues, I wondered if Scotty wasn't starting to figure out Judy's identity/connection with Madeleine. I thought that maybe the hairdo and the acceptance of the restaurant as a dating spot were Scotty's ways of sussing things out. The clothes were his way of putting the details together. And clearly, the necklace was the crowning moment.
And what about Judy? When she wore the necklace, was she sub-consciously trying to expose herself? I don't think she really wanted to spring it on Scotty like that. She obviously wanted to tell him; she almost left him a note. But she couldn't go through with it. So she kept her mouth shut the whole time they were...dating, I guess. But at the end, maybe her brain was trying to get her to confess. I couldn't help but think that her wearing of the necklace was in some way intentional. Not intentional-intentional. I don't think she went, "Hey, now's a good time to mess with his head and make him think that I really am Madeleine, and then I can confess and we can go back to the happy-happy pumpy-thrusty." I do think that somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted to confess. When she looked for jewelry, she subconsciously found her way of confessing - the necklace.
And jumping ahead to another creeper - the husband. WTF, man?! Tricking your friend - while paying him - and simultaneously murdering your wife - while paying someone to pretend to be her? What on earth are you thinking? Wouldn't it be easier just to toss her off a roof and claim the crazy-go-nuts excuse? Then there's no risk of anyone finding out the truth. And it would save a whole mess of money. And wasn't he creepily suspicious when he didn't even seem upset about his wife's death? I don't care who you are, you're going to show some sort of distress if you love your wife. Or even like her. Even if you're just using her for her money, couldn't you afford to fake a little emotion? Please?
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This reads like a review, and an amusing one! I like the comparison to The Red Pony. You could do more with that. Both that book and the movie involve people being haunted by things more than it seems they should be on the surface. But don't forget to work with the concepts we're covering in class, and to use the reading.
ReplyDeleteShe must have known about the necklace's potential to stir things up. With Scottie's attention to every last detail of Madeleine, I doubt that would go unnoticed when selecting the nights jewels. I didn't see his dressing her up like Madeleine as him trying to figure it all out, but like a potentially novice viewer, I just chalked it up to his obsession for her a yearning to get her back.
ReplyDeleteThough I didn't think he was piecing it all together as the steps of remaking Madeleine came to fruition, I did ponder the idea of how blind he was to not figure something out sooner before the necklace. I would think that someone that obsessed with someone would pick up on several small physical details, like exact skin color, freckles, style of ear lobes etc. As a cop, you'd expect better judgment from him. Like if a criminal commits a crime a wants to flee, what's the first thing they do, thinking it'll get them off free? They go dye their hair and get a change of wardrobe.
Not sure what my overall theme is here. I liked your creep factor and you've added a dimension of Scottie that I hadn't thought of. Good stuff.