'Vertigo': Analysis

The first film we watched for our psychoanalytical research was Vertigo directed by "Alfred Hitchcock". The film is a psychological thriller which revolves around a retired detective "John Ferguson" or "Scotty" who has a crippling fear of heights, having to come out of retirement to follow a mans wife as she is acting strange. We later find out that the woman "Madeline" is acting strange because she has, supposedly, been possessed by an Ancestor from the 1800's. John starts to take care of Madeline after she attempts to kill herself which really starts the psychoanalytical narrative as John then becomes obsessed with her. The narrative is driven by John's desire to be with Madeline and his obsession of following her, this is because he is trying to find his missing piece which turns out to be Madeline. Here I can also apply Freuds' take on " The big O and the missing piece" as through the entire film this is what John becomes obsessed with discovering. At the end of the film it takes a big twist as the man who employed John to stalk his wife is trying to frame him for the murder of Madeline but we find out at the end that she is still alive and living a secret life.

The film explores psychoanalytical themes of obsession and desire as it focuses upon Scotty's fascination for Madeline. This becomes a 'drive' which leads to his complete immersion in seeking to possess the female character. He's completely unaware of the influence she has on his personality and this is represented in the choice of camera angles and framing for many of the scenes. When Scotty follows Madeline to the art gallery we as an audience track Scotty's point of view and become emotionally involved with his need. Hitchcock chooses to keep the viewer visually dependent upon Scotty's observation of Madeline and we develop a similar interest in her character. Scotty's obsession dominates the narrative at the expense of any real reality and he builds up a picture of the character as some sort of ego ideal. It's at this moment that his desire overwhelms his rational thought processes and thrusts him (and the viewer) into a quest to attain his goal. The non-diegetic score at this point also makes the audience feel intrigue and suspicion, even though it is Scotty's desire which is the real drive.

Cinematically Hitchcock has shown that the thirst for desire consumes an individual and fulfils what Lacan would call 'lack'. Madeline fills the void that Scotty has, even though he is unaware that he had one. His vertigo is therefore a plot representation of something he tries to avoid.