VERTIGO a film essay by Sean Lee
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Written by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor Scottie Fergeson: James Stewart Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton: Kim Novak Midge Wood: Barbara Bel Geddes
Evaluation: **** (out of ****)
We squirm nervously as we watch Scottie desperately try to re-create Madeleine through Judy in Hitchcock's Vertigo. There is something discomforting about the futility of trying to extract a dead lover from a stranger. While Scottie's actions can be interpreted as being necrophilic, our uneasiness with the sequence is a result of something less psychoanalytical - we empathize with Scottie's pain due to the fact that we also are no longer attracted to Judy. The reason for this is in itself disturbing. From the moment Hitchcock reveals to us that Judy is Madeleine, we realize that what captivated us, enchanted us, was the product of an actress who lives in a third-class hotel. We can no longer love Madeleine because we now know that she is poor and has even been `picked up before.' Hitchcock creates an important subplot in Vertigo, suggesting that love cannot transcend barriers of social strata. Though some viewers may find Judy to be a submissive character, easily yielding to Scottie's attempts to change her appearance, there is also strength inside her to remain true to her modest life. She does not run away from her drab furnishings and move in with Scottie, though she can. She does not reprise the role of Madeleine, with all the breathless charm and elegance, though she can. Instead, she wants Scottie to love her for who she is, and it becomes a futile and fatal effort. Because she is a good actor, Judy has ability to dictate the situation she is in and possibly even craft a happy ending if she was to completely subjugate herself to Scottie's desires. But she doesn't and with every return we make into her spartan apartment we a reminded of her poverty and the further we drift from our dream and image of Madeleine. Through Judy 's acting, or the lack of acting in the latter half of the movie, Hitchcock prompts us to look at how we see people and how we judge them by their superficies.
Aside from Scottie's project to mold Judy into Madeleine, Hitchcock also presents us with how Scottie treats Judy differently merely on the basis that she is not Madeleine. We are presented with two, parallel scenes – one at Ernie's and one at Scottie's apartment in which we can see that Judy is treated differently. When Scottie first sees Madeleine at Ernie's, she is dressed in a beautiful green dress that stands out from the colorless attire of other patrons. Scottie is captivated by her presence. While certainly part of this is to accentuate Madeleine's beauty and make her stand out from the crowd, it is interesting that when the two return to the restaurant later in the movie with Judy as herself, Judy once again is the only person who wears color. This time, however, Scotties attention turns to the Madeleine look alike dressed in gray. Hitchcock in both scenes have Judy/Madeleine as the only patrons that are dressed in color, which is symbolic of the fact that they are one and alike. By having Scottie's gaze turn towards the more affluent `Madeleine' even though the real Madeleine is sitting across from him at the table is our first clue that it may not only be hair color that is differentiating the two; that is, their different positions in the social strata supersedes Judy's inherent character.
In the other parallel scene, we see Scottie prompting Judy to sit down in front of his fireplace after convincing Judy to color her hair. This scene is a reflection of when Madeleine sits down in front of Scottie's fireplace to dry off after falling into the bay. The overt difference is that Scottie is far less interested in conversation with Judy than with Madeleine. What is disturbing is the fact that Scottie refuses to treat Judy with the same respect as Madeleine until she can be like her. Madeleine is invited in front of the fireplace, as Scottie offers her two cushions. However, as Judy, she is only offered one cushion, and seemingly as an afterthought at that. We are provoked by this discrepancy in Scottie's manner to question why Judy is only one cushion worthy. Because there is a seemingly intentional duplication of the scenes - both showing an insert shot of the cushions on the ground, the discrepancy in the cushion count is unlikely a simple anomaly. Rather, once again, Hitchcock subtly indicates the incongruity that the same character is treated, with the only difference between Madeleine and Judy being one of class.
It is important to examine not only how Judy acts but how she doesn't act. When Judy is Madeleine, she is thoroughly convincing as the rich man's wife. Not only does she act mysteriously, her technique – the manner in which she talks, walks, and gestures all authentically epitomize Madeleine's affluence. As Judy, however, she does not undertake this subterfuge. Examining Madeleine's speech at Scottie's apartment we see that she speaks in a breathless, seductive voice. Every phrase is met with a rise in her eyebrows and a pull of her chin. Even when not speaking, Madeleine's lips are always parted, as if perpetually awaiting a kiss. As a contrast, Judy's voice is far less indiscrete, or as Jay Gatsby would say, a voice `full of money.' Her lips are drawn, and Judy is much less sexual than Madeleine. Why Hitchcock makes this contrast between Judy as Madeleine and Judy as herself is important as to how we see Judy's acting. It can be assumed that Judy never met the real Madeleine; though Gavin Elster may have provided Judy some cursory instructions on how to act as Madeleine, it should be accepted that Judy creates the character of Madeleine from her own schemata of how someone rich and beautiful such as Madeleine should act. Therefore, it is important to realize that while Judy is fully capable in transcending her humble stock to take on the role of Madeleine, she does not repossess the grace nor elegance of Madeleine as Judy. Because Hitchcock spends a great deal shooting at Judy's apartment rather than Scottie's, this combined with Judy's insistence to be her true self to Scottie becomes an important test for both Scottie and the audience. Do we treat people differently because of their social class? Judy's Madeleine is not a portrayal of the real Madeleine – it is the product of Judy's acting. Thus difference between the two is entirely superficial, yet Scottie can only be in love with the character Judy creates and not who she is. Judy's insistence to not act as Madeleine in the latter half of the movie becomes not only a testament to Judy's intrinsic strength, but Scottie's moral weakness.
Near the end of Vertigo, there is a scene where Judy is physically metamorphosed into Madeleine. Once again, it is made clear that though Judy may physically appear as Madeleine, the quivering of Judy's lips as she visibly strains for Scottie's approval gives her away as Judy. Coming out of the bathroom and before Judy walks towards Scottie, Judy stands for a moment in front of the green neon sign in front of her window. The shot of her in front of the green neon, part of Judy's hotel, is so powerful that it immerses Judy in its green light, giving Judy a very ethereal quality. Under the theme of affluence and class, one should examine the use of the color green in the movie. Hitchcock has said that green is the color of ghosts, and in such a sense our first shots of Madeleine and Judy both in green clothes may suugest the Judy – Madeleine duplicity. Along this line, one can easily see the richness of the scene in which Judy, doused in a green neon flame not only literally appears like a ghost, but also alludes to the fact that Madeleine, who Judy is now dressed like, is also a ghost. Though this is the intent of the scene on one level, the color green also possesses a second meaning. Green is also a color of wealth and prosperity. The green Jaguar that Madeleine drives is an explicit example; British green has long been a color associated exclusively with luxury automobiles. Even today, we find green a prevalent choice in expensive automobiles while not on subcompacts. Though perhaps a bit trite, green is the color of money, and subsequently, the color of our desires. In Vertigo, however, green can also serve as reminder of the absence of fortune. Unlike Gatsby's yearning for the green light at Daisy's dock, Judy's green light is one that reads `Empire Hotel.' This neon, which silhouettes Judy in one scene and engulfs her in another serves as a garish reminder that this is no longer the Judy that drives a Jaguar; this is the Judy that lives in a third-class hotel. By having Judy separated from Scottie by the vulgar green neon, we see that it is the wealth absent in Judy that ultimately alienates Scottie from her; the constant reminder of Judy's poverty is powerful enough to overcome her appearance as Madeleine.
If Judy's struggle for identity is characterized by her unwillingness to reprise her role of Madeleine, then it is very possible in the scene that follows the orgasmic physical metamorphosis Judy plays out a final, desperate act. One should recall that Judy had originally intended to divulge Elster's plan; however, Judy tears the confessional not to protect Gavin, but as an attempt to make Scottie fall in love with herself, not Madeleine. But things go awry and Judy sees that Scottie is obsessed with Madeleine. For someone who so close came to a disclosure earlier, wouldn't as an act of desperation, would Judy feel inclined to confess herself as Madeleine? I believe she does in the scene when she puts on Carlotta's necklace. Though it may seem her decision to put on the necklace that night was a grand slip on Judy's part, I would suggest it is her final performance as an actress – a desperate move to tell Scottie that she was Madeleine. Though she acts as though putting on the necklace is a casual affair, this is the first time we see Judy wearing a black dress. The necklace, then, even without Hitchcock's insert shot, would become the centerpiece of her ensemble. Furthermore, Judy prompts Scottie to clasp Carlotta's necklace for her, drawing more attention to the jewelry. As Scottie works the clasp from behind Judy, she faces towards the mirror, almost inviting attention to the necklace. Finally, when Scottie asks, `How do you work this thing?' Judy responds, `Can't you see?' Judy's line, though on the surface directed at the logistics of the clasp, is at the same time Judy's confession of her crime and a revelation of her identity. `Can't you see that I'm wearing Carlotta's necklace?' `Can't you see that I am Madeleine?' It would be too irresponsible if Judy pulled out her most expensive piece of jewelry without remembering its significance. Rather, in her last heartfelt acting job, she shows Scottie what he wants to see in hopes that he can finally love her for being Judy. Sadly, her hopes for a silent reconciliation are met with Scottie's contempt, for he is now faced to confront the fact that Judy will never play the role of Madeleine again.
humble girl is given the role of a lifetime in Vertigo. Like a starlet who peaks too soon, Judy becomes haunted by her single, solitary role. In her decision not to recapitulate her role as Madeleine, she becomes unable to transcend her tawdry life to become the affluent ghost Scottie is in love with. Hitchcock poses an important question for the audience of Vertigo – Why can't we fall in love with the same woman? It would seem the fact that Judy is Madeleine would draw us closer to her, yet ironically, our knowledge of her humble stock seems to extinguish our desire for her altogether. For what is the inherent difference between Madeleine and Judy? Though both characters are played by the same woman, the division between Madeleine and Judy is one of social status. In Vertigo, as we frustratingly watch Judy refuse to become Madeleine, Hitchcock prompts us to confront our own fixations with superficiality and status.
Copyright 1997 Sean Lee
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