0DD & 0N3

Life is a tragedy when seen close up, but a comedy in long shot. – Charlie Chaplan

As a class, it is clear that we have come to the consensus that Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a movie to be seen two or more times in order to comprehend what’s going on. So, in order to more fully grasp the terrific artwork of Hitchcock, I sat down last week and watched Vertigo four times. I have come to the conclusion that Hitchcock wants his audience to participate and act as detectives. There are clues in the dialogue, tone, and costuming throughout the film that foreshadow the many twisted events of Vertigo. Another device that Hitchcock used in this way was the close-up. The camera tells us secrets that the story doesn’t. Close-ups are used as a foreshadowing mechanism throughout the film.

After writing my last post I had this thought: it’s interesting that a portrait, the likeness of someone, can cause the viewer to create his own portrait, verbal description, of the one stuck in the photograph.

Sort of how Matthews keeps saying that the girl in the photograph reminds him of a different time – it reminds him of something. He’s recreating her in his mind.