Vertigo & Male Gaze

In Vertigo, Hitchcock uses the cinematography, microelements and mise-en-scene to portray the male gaze from Scottie and connote his obsession for Madeleine.  The scene of which he first sees her is considered the greatest scene in cinema history as it portrays the idea of love at first sight. We see Madeleine in Scottie’s P.O.V and as he becomes obsessed with her, so do we.

Madeleine in this scene stands out considerably from the others around her, as she is the only light blonde in a sea of brown haired people, and furthermore, her green clothing looks bright and extraordinary in a background of monotone colours.

The male P.O.V shows her being ‘gazed’ at which is an active thing to do by Scottie who does this without her knowledge. The slow tracking shot from Scottie highlights this constant gaze and connotes the fact he cannot take his eyes off of her which reinforces this newly formed obsession he has with her. The background then glows red, which has connotations of lust and danger that foreshadows the fate of the characters and the reality of this obsession.

The camera is drawn to her exposed back and shows how she is sexualised by her costume and at this point, Scottie sits up straighter highlighting his intrigue for the woman, he is overwhelmed by her beauty and these feelings she has given him.

Madeleine in this scene is framed like a painting in the doorway and we know Scottie thinks she is the perfect woman for him as he continues to gaze at her like an object in a museum because he desires her. Throughout the whole scene, we as the audience are encouraged to gaze at her because Scottie does. There is an emphasis on her side profile which makes her look two dimensional and therefore she becomes an aesthetic and part of the scenery, as a result of this, she is clearly being idealised by Scottie, the audience, and Hitchcock.