Vertigo (1958)

This is the second Hitchcock film that I've watched - and most likely the last. Saying that, I much prefer this film to the first one I watched - The Birds. Film Noir was always a genre that captured my interest and I found the psychological thriller narrative to be very compelling. This film is one of, if not the, most highly revered work of Alfred Hitchcock and I had very high expectations going into it. However, like with The Birds, I just failed to personally connect to the film which is why I gave it 3 stars. One thing I noticed was that the film had a very experimental style. I quite liked the dolly zoom effect and the disorientating manner in which many of the scenes were shot. Hitchcock films, to me, seem to be great at conveying mood and tone through cinematography. The colours in this film were so saturated and bright - at times they were so vibrant that I felt dizzy. The animations and special effects might seem a bit tacky, especially to modern audiences, but I personally liked them a lot. I also think that the scenic shots of Los Angeles contributed to the cultural impact of this film. There were so many iconic scenes such as the one with the Golden Gate bridge and the one with the waves crashing on the shore while the main characters shared a kiss. I also like that the film explored the male gaze and how the main character viewed the women in his life. Lastly, the plot was very compelling and there were lots of unexpected twists and turns. I genuinely was shocked by the ending and that doesn't happen often. At the end of the day, I do think that this film suffered from a lot of the things that I didn't like about The Birds. It simply dragged on for too long and the narrative isn't one that I think appeals to modern tastes. The characters were quite uninteresting - I found that they were mainly being driven by the plot instead of the other way around. Another thing I've found with Hitchcock films is that they're obviously made from a White, upper middle-class, American point of view. This might be another reason why I, as an immigrant living in England, simply am unable to deeply connect with his films. While I do like the movie and respect its cultural impact, I just think that Hitchcock films aren't my cup of tea.