Psycho is his most well-known (and a great film in its own right), and the film that (along with Halloween) launched a taohsund slasher-flicks.But Vertigo is his masterpiece.James Stewart gives the performance of his career, Hermann's score never steps wrongly in its entire run-time, and Hitchcock himself injects an almost meta-like self-reflection into the piece. Mostly about how he treats women in his films.That the entire premise is preposterous is one of the film's greatest strengths. Here, Hitchcock manages to weave a tale we believe anyway, when every fiber of our being is trying to tell us it can't really happen. The twists are genuinely shocking, the outcomes unexpected. As a character study, a look into the darker emotions of men and women, it is second to none. The people here possess some reprehensible traits but so do we, and we genuinely care and feel for both leads because of it, even if for different reasons. Vertigo is the measuring stick for the psychological drama.

by Mouli 08:28:19 AM 2012.10.03