Film review on Vertigo focussing on the representation of women

The film starts with a dramatic chase sequence on the roof tops of buildings. This immediately gets you intrigued with the film and gets you wanting to know more. Then ‘scotty’ has a near miss of a building and nearly falls, using a trombone shot to show the danger of the height. This shot also first introduces the main theme of the film being ‘Scotty’ is afraid of heights and vertigo.

The first girl character we come across once the film has started is Midge; she’s blonde, very pretty and is a fashion designer. This occupation subjects women to the low end jobs such as a house wife not like the high end job you see Scotty has as a detective. Some could say this could be a representation of the theory of the ‘Male Gaze’.  Midge is portrayed in this film to be a traditional, caring, maternal role, helping Scotty with his fear of highs. You can tell Scotty is shown to be an independent, strong man having power over Midge; but this all come crashing down with his fear of heights. The main women in this film are rarely if not at all seen as powerful or independent they are always attached to man, midge with Scotty and the Kim Novak and her husband.

Women in general in this film are stereotyped and possibly shown in a slight misogynistic view, being men are more important and powerful then women. In scenes like the court room where Scotty is under trial to if he was guilty for Kim Novak’s death, there was no women in the court room or jury. This shows that women’s views and opinions didn’t count or are they important as women are seen as only good at things such a cooking and knitting. Kim Novak could easily teas Scotty into thinking she was mental or crazy, this I believe as women in the film are seen as weak and the men’s power used to help them. This could relate to the Male Gaze theory as well because the theory suggests men see themselves over women and that they are weaker.

The second main woman to be shown in vertigo was also very pretty, sleek and bleach blonde. The male gaze suggested a theory that films are directed by men to appear to men as an audience especially the way women are portrayed to be sexually appealing. This could be Hitchcock’s way to portray his fantasy women and the male gaze through his films. As he was known for the women in his films being typically blond, very pretty and slim nicknamed ‘ice maidens’. He also was very decisive in how they would look and dress. As Kim Novak was seen idyllically in a grey suit, even though grey was seen to wash out Kim with her blonde hair Hitchcock insisted it must be grey. So you could say in this film Hitchcock created his own male gaze view specific to how he viewed women.

The music in Vertigo shows the strong relationships men and women have in this film. It shows the fascination Scotty has with Kim Novak with romance and desire. It builds up in the right places to create intense feelings for what is happening in the film.