I just saw Vertigo again today (on TCM), and it really is a fun movie that’s very well made. But it’s the ending and its message that really struck me on seeing it this time. Because what happens at the end? Why, Kim Novak’s character falls to her death (Oh, um, spoiler alert?) and James Stewart’s character is probably devastated and driven crazy with guilt over the same falling-to-her-death-from-great-heights event occurring yet again (although I think the first one was already dead when she was dropped). But what about the guy who designed and perpetrated the dastardly plot? Oh, him? Yeah, he got away with it, living the high life in luxury in some European country with no extradition treaty with the United States.
And so the moral of this story is that if you’re rich and powerful enough, you’ll get away with everything, and the powerless ones who are part of your scheme will get punished. And really, when you think about it, what’s more American than that? After all, that’s what happens with corporate crimes, the financial crash, government corruption, war crimes like the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, etc. And I think this may be why this movie was voted as the #1 greatest movie ever made by Sight & Sound Critics’ Top 250 Greatest Films: because despite a preposterous plot line, the message of the story couldn’t be more true or relevant: the rich and powerful get away with it, and the powerless take the punishment.
But to see what could have happened to punish the bad guy, try this:
http://unconditionedresponse.blogspot.com/2012/09/vertigo-2_2.html
But to see what could have happened to punish the bad guy, try this:
http://unconditionedresponse.blogspot.com/2012/09/vertigo-2_2.html
