In this section of our Colossus Movie Guide for Vertigo, we will explain the film’s ending.
Cast
- James Stewart – John “Scottie” Ferguson
- Kim Novak – Judy Barton / Madeleine Elster
- Tom Helmore – Gavin Elster
- Barbara Bel Geddes – Marjorie “Midge” Wood
- Henry Jones – the coroner
- Raymond Bailey – Scottie’s doctor
- Ellen Corby – manager of McKittrick Hotel
- Konstantin Shayne – Pop Leibel
- Alec Coppel – Writer
- Samuel Taylor – Writer
- Alfred Hitchcock – Director
The end of Vertigo explained
Recap
In a revealing flashback, we learn that Judy impersonated “Madeleine Elster” for Gavin’s murderous scheme. She starts a confession letter to Scottie but tears it, choosing love over truth. Even as they start dating, Scottie remains fixated on “Madeleine.” He coerces Judy into replicating Madeleine’s look. Upon seeing Judy don the necklace from Carlotta’s painting, Scottie unravels the deceit.
Driven to confirm his suspicions, Scottie takes Judy to the Mission, forcing a reenactment of the fatal event. He compels her to climb the bell tower and admit her treachery. At the top, Scottie overcomes his acrophobia and Judy confesses her part in Gavin’s plot. She pleads for Scottie’s forgiveness, declaring her love for him. Their moment is disrupted by a nun’s appearance, causing a startled Judy to fall to her death. Scottie is left mourning yet again, free from his acrophobia, as the nun tolls the bell.
Meaning
There are several roads to travel down with the ending of Vertigo that illuminate the film’s themes and bring resolution to the characters. Let’s observe a few different facets of this ending that, altogether, will create a comprehensive understanding of what happens.
The irony of Scottie’s obsession
Scottie’s compulsive need for composure and control is a critical aspect of his character in Vertigo, and ironically, it’s this obsession with control that triggers his psychological unraveling and indirectly causes Judy’s death, leading to his further mental torment.
From the beginning, Scottie is portrayed as a man seeking to regain control over his life, particularly through overcoming his acrophobia. His trauma, represented by his vertigo, is a constant challenge to his sense of control. Meeting and falling in love with Madeleine offers Scottie a form of purpose and control he’s been longing for. However, her supposed suicide, an event utterly out of his control, shatters his composure, pushing him into a state of depression.
His encounter with Judy, who bears a striking resemblance to Madeleine, rekindles his obsessive need for control. Scottie seeks to reshape Judy into the image of Madeleine, a clear manifestation of his desire for control. In this process, Scottie doesn’t merely wish to dictate Judy’s appearance—he aims to manipulate reality itself, trying to resurrect Madeleine through Judy.
But Scottie’s quest for control escalates to a point where it consumes him and eventually catalyzes his psychological disintegration. The more he exerts control over Judy, the more he is entrapped in his obsession. His growing obsession with the truth and his unyielding desire to control reality lead him to the Mission.
There, Scottie forces Judy to confess and attempts to reenact the tragic event. His momentary triumph over his vertigo, a personal victory and a regained sense of control, is overshadowed by the horror of Judy’s death. This tragic event marks the culmination of his obsession with control, and paradoxically, it leads to his complete loss of it.
Judy’s death deeply traumatizes Scottie and plunges him into further mental anguish. The woman he once controlled falls beyond his reach, echoing Madeleine’s death, and leaving him enveloped in grief. His quest for control leads him to a point where he loses not only his composure but also the person he is obsessed with.
Hitchcock’s meta-narrative and audience manipulation
The meta-narrative in Vertigo is a clear representation of Alfred Hitchcock’s mastery over the art of suspense and audience manipulation. Throughout the film, Hitchcock cleverly hides Judy’s true identity from the audience, making them complicit in Scottie’s delusions—then rips the rug from under our feet right at the very end.
This unexpected disclosure shifts the audience’s perspective and perception of the entire narrative. In retrospect, the audience is made aware of the layered manipulations at play, mirroring Scottie’s eventual realization of truth. By revealing the truth to the audience before Scottie, Hitchcock creates a dramatic irony that deepens the suspense and engagement.
Moreover, Hitchcock’s meta-narrative is essentially a commentary on the nature of cinema itself. Cinema often deals with illusion and reality, and Vertigo exemplifies this. Hitchcock, as the director, is the puppet master controlling not just the characters on screen but also manipulating audience perceptions, much like Gavin Elster in the film. This approach reveals the inherent power of the director in shaping narrative and manipulating audience reactions.
Hitchcock’s manipulation of the audience also serves as a critique of viewer passivity. By being deceived alongside Scottie, the audience is challenged to question their passive acceptance of the narrative presented to them. Hitchcock encourages viewers to be more discerning and critical, transforming them from passive spectators to active participants.
How the ending mirrors the opening scene
The final scene in Vertigo masterfully mirrors the opening sequence that triggers Scottie’s acrophobia, thereby offering a profound closure to his character journey. Both scenes feature a high structure, a traumatic event, and a consequential fall, yet they play out differently for Scottie, marking his evolution throughout the film.
The opening scene sets the stage for Scottie’s journey. A rooftop chase ends in the tragic death of a fellow police officer, which Scottie witnesses while paralyzed by his acrophobia. This incident deeply traumatizes Scottie and instills in him an intense fear of heights, or vertigo, shaping his future actions and decisions. It is this initial trauma that leads him to retire from the police force and eventually become entangled in Gavin’s manipulative plot.
The climax at the Mission bell tower, on the other hand, serves as a parallel to the opening but with significant differences. Just like in the opening sequence, Scottie finds himself high above the ground, facing a traumatic event—this time, it’s Judy’s confession and her subsequent fall. However, unlike the opening scene, Scottie is now able to conquer his acrophobia and reach the top of the bell tower, showing his growth and the overcoming of his fears.
The two scenes provide a mirror reflection of each other in Scottie’s journey: from a traumatized, acrophobic man to someone who has overcome his fear. However, the victory over his acrophobia doesn’t bring relief or happiness but is instead coupled with another tragedy, marking an ironic and poignant turn in Scottie’s journey.
Additionally, the cyclical nature of these events—starting and ending with a fall—reinforces the film’s recurring theme of the past’s influence on the present. Even as Scottie overcomes his personal fear, he is unable to prevent the past from repeating itself, emphasizing the persistent grip of the past on present circumstances.
The role of religion in the final scene
Religion plays a significant role in the final scene of Vertigo, adding layers of symbolism and depth to the narrative. The setting in itself, a Spanish mission, replete with religious undertones, serves as a backdrop to the culmination of the film’s thematic exploration.
The religious context of the final scene can be perceived as a metaphor for judgment and penance. The bell tower, a quintessential symbol of religious institutions, can be seen as a representation of a higher power or divine judgment. When Scottie forces Judy to the top of the tower to confess her deceit, it’s almost as if she is brought before a higher court to admit her sins. In a sense, this confrontation and confession can be seen as a form of penance for Judy.
Judy’s subsequent fall to death could be interpreted as a tragic form of divine retribution, an immediate consequence following her confession. It echoes the “eye for an eye” principle, where her deception leads to her downfall, much like how her act of impersonation led to Madeleine’s death.
The unexpected appearance of the nun plays into the religious symbolism. The nun, a representative of moral authority and piety in traditional Christian iconography, startles Judy, resulting in her accidental fall. The nun’s subsequent act of ringing the mission bell can be interpreted as a toll for the departed soul, a common practice in many religious customs.
However, while the religious symbolism lends dramatic weight to the final scene, it’s worth noting that Hitchcock uses these elements more for their metaphorical value rather than an endorsement or critique of religious beliefs. The religious elements in Vertigo contribute to the film’s exploration of themes such as guilt, sin, judgment, and retribution, enhancing the richness of the narrative.
The power of guilt
The ending also serves as the final reveal of truth, marked by Judy’s confession. Her guilt stems from her participation in Gavin’s manipulative plot, which resulted in Madeleine’s death and caused Scottie’s psychological trauma. The audience witnesses the extent of her guilt in the scene where she starts writing a confession letter to Scottie, only to tear it up. This moment reveals Judy’s inner turmoil—her guilt for the past and her desire to be loved by Scottie for who she truly is, not as Madeleine.
The decision to return to Scottie, despite the potential risks, is a testament to the power of her guilt and her love for him. She chooses to continue the charade, hoping that she can find happiness with Scottie and, perhaps, redemption for her past actions. She transforms herself back into Madeleine, even though it brings back painful memories and guilt, reinforcing the power of guilt and its influence over her actions.
However, the revelation of truth, when it finally comes, proves to be devastating for both Judy and Scottie. Judy’s confession, induced by Scottie’s insistence, not only shatters Scottie’s illusion but also amplifies Judy’s guilt. It becomes clear that her attempts at reconciliation and redemption have backfired, leading to tragic consequences.
Judy’s guilt and the reveal of truth also provide the audience with a deeper understanding of her character. Until this point, Judy was seen primarily as the deceptive figure, the femme fatale. But the exposure of her guilt humanizes her, making her a more relatable and tragic figure.
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