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When making a good film, many key elements such as lighting, color, editing, visual design and sound, come into play. Another very important element is composition which refers to how subjects are arranged in relation to each other and to the sides of the frame. Framing, mise-en-scene or staging, and photographing all play a significant role in the composition of films, thus creating a desired meaning of the film creator. Through the unique composition of the Alfred Hitchcock film, Vertigo, the audience is able to gain a deeper understanding of what is happening without it being directly presented to them through the characters actions or dialogue. In this suspenseful film, every frame, line and scene is filled with meaning from beginning to end. The names of the director and the two leads appear in front of an extreme close-up of a woman's face and the rest of the cast and crew are listed while spirals rush towards the audience.
Because of this approach, the audience knows that this woman known as both Judy Barton and Madeline, played by Kim Novak, is going to be of great importance throughout the entire film. The credits are followed by a rooftop chase in which Scottie, played by James Stewart, comes close to death when he does not quite make a jump from one roof to another and is left dangling on the side. Scotties vertigo is revealed through a point-of-view shot in which the camera zooms in and out from the roof creating a sense of extreme height and fear of falling. The vertigo that Scottie is afflicted with and the visual representations of falling by the very high angle shots at key points throughout the film, helps the audience to understand the happenings that are to follow. For example, when he first tries to conquer his fear by simply climbing a small step ladder, there is another point-of-view shot in which the audience feels Scotties fear because, though he is probably only about two feet off the ground, Scottie feels as though he is very high up and could fall. Then, when his twisted relationship with Madeline begins, there are many aspects of composition that reveal the warped storyline just by unique shots, placement of the characters to the setting, size of the characters on the screen and so on.
For example, when Scottie first starts following Madeline, he sees her at Ernie's, a restaurant implemented constantly throughout the film. The camera pulls back from Scottie across the diners and moves in on Madeline. The view cuts to that of Scottie but as Madeline moves towards him, he hides his stare, and the audience stays focused on her. She pauses right next to him and both are separated, in profile, in their own frames. Following that first sitting which foreshadows their relationship, he is constantly watching her from afar, the view always from inside his car, either from his point of view or a reaction shot of him. The two characters are rarely seen on screen together and thus there is never the feeling that Madeline is going to realize that she is being followed.
At the Palace of the Legion of Honour the audience is drawn in further by two zooms comparing the mystery woman with the work of art on the wall. This shot is very obviously seen through Scottie's eyes as it is immediately followed by a shot of him straining to see the far-off object. By sharing the same observations as Scottie, the audience shares in his confusion and strong emotions. He then follows her to Golden Gate Park where Judy is placed strategically on the lower right side of the frame in the background with the Golden Gate Bridge towering behind her filling most of the screen.
Once again, the audience shares Scotties point of view and thus feels the sense of urgency when Judy jumps into the San Francisco Bay. He rescues her and their relationship has begun. In the following scene in Scotties apartment, the camera seems to be positioned between the characters shooting each of them from different angles. There are a few tight close-up shots of Madeline that give a sense of Scottie being right behind the camera but not quite from his eyesight. Their false relationship develops leading up to Madeline's suicide. The composition of the suicide sequence is excellent for it really pulls the audience into the scene and allows them to feel the fear and heartbreak of Scottie.
The suicide occurs at a church where Madeline proceeds to run up to the top of the bell tower. As Scottie chases Madeline up the stairs, his vertigo takes over which is represented through a point-of-view shot in which Scottie looks down and the camera once again zooms in and out creating a sense of falling. This suicide scene concludes the first half of the film with an extreme long shot on the bell tower that Madeline jumped out of creating a very strong, dramatic effect. The composition in the second half of the film is much different than that of the first half. There are far less point-of-view shots than in the beginning. Scottie is traumatized by Madeline's death and is mentally unstable.
This instability can be expressed through one scene in particular where Scottie is having a nightmare. The establishing shot is of Scottie in his bed, his face taking up the entire frame with different shades of green and red lights flashing to create confusion. His dream sequence is of flashes of Madeline and a spiraling flower bouquet that randomly turns into a cartoon, thus emphasizing the confusion going on in Scotties mind. He then returns to the exact places where he had initially followed Madeline, such as the graveside and Golden Gate Bridge. It is as if the same shots from before are used at these sites with Madeline's absence being the only difference.
The use of empty space at each of the places he goes, such as Madeline's old apartment creates a feeling of loss that Scottie is experiencing. In this scene, there is a long pan across San Francisco's skyline and dissolves into Scotties view of Madeline's apartment building. The city is seen effectively in its entirety, part of the real world background with the apartment in the foreground expressing a sense of false hope for Scottie that just maybe Madeline would walk out. As he is wandering, he meets Judy (formerly known as Madeline to the audience, but not to Scottie). When he first meets her, there is a profile shot of her, just as there was of Madeline in the beginning at Ernie's.
The only difference between this shot and the one of Madeline in the beginning is that there is blurred movement in the background and the shot of Madeline was an extreme close-up. Following this is Scotties obsession of turning Judy into Madeline for their resemblance is so similar that Scottie believes he can cure his heartache and guilt by making Judy as similar to Madeline as he can. Step-by-step, Scottie tries to make Judy the same as Madeline by her attire, makeup and even hair. When Judy is finally ready, she comes out of the bathroom and appears to Scottie out of a haunting green fog that is apparently explained by the neon sign from the hotel. This composition creates a dreamlike effect because although a natural setting is what is creating the fog, Scottie looks at her as though an angel has appeared. Scottie embraces her and even the background changes to reflect his subjective memories instead of the real room he is in.
By the temporary change in background, the audience knows that Scottie is feeling the embrace of Madeline and not of Judy. This happy romance lasts a short time because Scottie discovers in the necklace sequence, that Judy was Madeline. As they get ready to go to dinner, Scottie sits at one side of the room as he watches Judy get ready on the other side of the room (the space between them foreshadows the following events). Suddenly the camera zooms in on the necklace that Judy is putting on.
Scotties point-of-view shows the audience that he knows about Judy's past identity of Madeline because once he sees the necklace, it quickly cuts to the necklace in the painting that Madeline had constantly stared at, thus linking them to each other. This unique style of cutting reveals that he is aware that he has been tricked without him having to say a word. He shows Judy that he knows her secret by taking her to the church and reenacting what took place the day of Madeline's death. Once again, the two characters are shown running up the stairs, but this time, Scottie is not plagued by his vertigo which is apparent because when the camera looks down, it does not zoom in and out which had earlier created a sense of falling for Scottie.
They get to the top and Scottie comes out of a shadow, his face large and sweaty. Judy is on the other side of the screen in the background conveying her weak, powerless state as Scottie is accusing her. They embrace and she then, by accident, falls out the window, with the final shot of Scottie standing at the top of the tower, looking down at her, revealing that his vertigo has been cured. The ingenious composition used in this film is most definitely one of the reasons that it was considered one of the best films of that time. Hitchcock used unique placement of the subjects, unique camera techniques and great acting to build up the suspense for the viewers. Having watched this film at least seven times, the thoughts and feelings are different each and every time.
Vertigo is a very powerful and entertaining film that everyone should see.
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Research essay sample on Film Components In The Composition Of Vertigo
