The 'Vertigo' Ending Explained

Alfred Hitchcock is a true master and one of the greatest directors of all time. His work has shaped everything from Jordan Peele's Us to M. Night Shyamalan's Sixth Sense. There's no doubt Hitch left an indelible mark on Hollywood, especially thanks to his seminal films Psycho, The Birds, and Rear Window.

When people bring up Vertigo, they usually refer to it as "that weird one," at least that's what my friend said when I mentioned writing this article.

Today, Vertigo is heralded as one of the best and most important movies ever made, but when it came out, it received mixed reviews. In fact, Variety said "Vertigo is prime though uneven Hitchcock and with the potent marquee combination of James Stewart and Kim Novak should prove to be a highly profitable enterprise at the box office."

So how did Vertigo become one of the most celebrated movies of all time?

The History of Vertigo

Vertigo was released in 1958. The movie starred Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. The movie was thrilling and weird. It came with a Bernard Herrmann score and had a poster done by Saul Bass.

Credit: Mubi

Even though its reception was mediocre, it made$7,705,225 at the domestic box office according to Box Office Mojo. It was a movie that confounded audiences with its dark morals and confusing twists. But while Vertigo helped keep Alfred Hitchcock the most famous director in Hollywood, it was also part of a five-picture deal he made with Paramount that allowed him to retain the rights to his films.

That meant from around 1960 to 1980 almost no one saw Vertigo. Yes, a movie that was ushering in changes across Hollywood and influencing every contemporary director was also not being seen. Sure, you could watch the movies it paved the way for, but you couldn't see the film that built the road that others traveled.

In fact, if you even watched to catch a glimpse of the movie you had to ask Hitch directly. And he said no to lots of people. Even Jimmy Stewart couldn't get him to show it.

But Hitch didn't live forever. He died in 1980 and a few years after his death audiences were allowed to return to this masterpiece. A whole new generation got to see the picture and experience the complex love story about stalking and infatuation.

How did Vertigo change Hollywood?

The American New Wave came to life in the 1960s, but it really started in '58 with Vertigo. Its artfulness and craft set it apart from every other movie released at the time. It was tragic and a downer. Endlessly rewatchable and completely new every time you see it. The color, composition, and even movements like the dolly zoom all were used to perfection within the movie.

These were all director flourishes, and they solidified the narrative that the director was the true author of any film. This auteur theory changed the way Hollywood pivoted as well. They realized directors with a signature style could be a marketing tool unto themselves. And Film theorists decided that movies with these complex emotions and moral issues were worth studying.

Vertigo helped Hollywood be taken seriously, helped movies be considered art AND entertainment, and places the weight of the world on every director's shoulders.

The movie also changed the way we dealt with endings.

Vertigo's ending explained

In the final scene, Scottie (James Stewart) has discovered that Judy (Kim Novak) is actually Madeline and was part of a murder plot. To cure himself of his vertigo, Scottie forces the duplicitous Judy to reenact the murder.

Judy resists all the way up the stairs, even telling Scottie she loves him. Then, suddenly, a nun appears behind Judy.

Judy doesn't see a Nun though, she sees a dark shadow, possible resembling Carlotta, the women who supposedly possessed her when she was pretending to be Madeline.

The appearance of the nun scares Judy backward and she falls to her death. Vertigo ends with Scottie standing, frozen, inches from the precipice, looking down, once again, at the dead body of the woman he loved.

Is this punishment for Judy's guilt, or for Scottie's lustful obsession? Or both?

Does the nun's appearance suggest God's will, the devil's work, or is it just a coincidence given the location?

For me, I think this is justice all around.

Scotty's unbridled selfish obsession could not be rewarded with love, because it came from a place of needing to be needed. That's not love at all.

And Scotty's vertigo was mostly PTSD, something he was able to overcome once he realized he was being used by Judy and his rich high school friend to cover up a murder.

Judy had regrets about being part of the conspiracy, but never turned anyone in for a murder, and also I think became reverse obsessed with Scotty because of how she felt safe with him, a safety she wanted to feel after moving to San Francisco and partaking in a crime. She was also selfishly needing him.

The wink and a nod with the nun at the end underlines fate and ivine intervention.

But you have to admit, this ending of Scotty now being alone, with no one needing him anymore, is incredibly bleak.

There are lots of things to unpack in Vertigo's ending, but the one constant is that it got people talking.

This maneuver, to end this way, was purely a director decision. With Hitchcock being seen as the author of the film, the dissection of Vertigo's ending also became a dissection of Hitchcock himself.

Was this about his lust for actresses, his peeping ways?

Or was it about career anxiety and the fear audiences would see his true self and love him less?

It's possibly the most self-reflextive we've seen Hitchcock. He knows he's straddling a line, but does he care?

After this movie came out, he still tortured actresses on the sets of Psycho and The Birds.

No matter what, these big questions ushered in a new era of the way we talk about film. These ambiguous endings were profitable and plausible.

And Hollywood had changed forever.

Let me know what you think in the comments.