In the scene where the hero is afraid of heights and dizziness, the style of painting suddenly changes, and a sunny studio, a girl designing underwear, and a retired old man appear on the screen. That is, the male lead. After the lazy conversation, the story became relaxed. Hitchcock once again emphasized the hero’s fear of heights and incidentally stated that the hero is currently single, retired, rich, and has nothing to do, which is enough for the following plot. reason.
The story continues. The male protagonist went to see his good friend Gavin, and heard about the absurd and bizarre behavior of Gavin’s wife. Gavin thought that his wife was possessed by a ghost, and asked the male protagonist to follow her and push her. Afterwards, the male protagonist met Gavin’s wife, the female protagonist. Perhaps he was attracted by the female protagonist’s beauty and temperament. He accepted the job and embarked on a journey of spying.
Like the voyeuristic psychology of "Rear Window", there are also some human tracking and voyeuristic psychology. The audience follows the male protagonist’s car all the way to follow the female protagonist. While the suspense continues, it also satisfies the audience’s desire for voyeurism. The story gets closer and closer. As Gavin said, audiences who didn’t understand Hitchcock might have believed in ghost possession. In the end, the heroine jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge because of ghost possession, and the hero saved the beauty. The romantic suspenseful love story began to unfold.
The two began to fall in love, and there are some psychological hints about the possessiveness of married women by men. A beautiful woman in despair, a single man of good character, and the sacredness and morality of marriage are arranged by Hitchcock. Without weight, on the contrary, it adds some romantic flavor. Under the huge California redwood, under the cross-age annual ring, the two kissed passionately along with the waves.
Finally, at the climax of the story, the heroine had a tendency to commit suicide again. She ran to the bell tower of the church. The hero tried desperately to catch up but failed to save the heroine again because of fear of heights. With a scream, the hero looked at the heroine. Jumped off the clock tower and fell to death.
Because of self-blame and suffering and mental disorder, the male protagonist began to look for the footsteps of the deceased female protagonist on the street after healed. He found a very similar woman named Julie, and strongly urged Julie to have dinner with him. Julie reluctantly agreed with the slightest comfort. After the hero left, Hitchcock gave Julie a long close-up, and a terrifying memory began to unfold.
The heroine ran to the clock tower. The hero tried desperately to catch up. The heroine climbed the stairs. The hero felt dizzy because of fear of heights. The heroine reached the top of the tower. The hero’s good friend Gavin held a comatose woman standing on the top of the tower. When the woman was thrown away, the hostess screamed, and the memories ended.
The audience must have exclaimed in their hearts at this time, eager to know what happened. Hitchcock did not leave the suspense at the end, but read it out through the narration of Julie’s letter to the protagonist. It turns out that all this is covered. Wen is well planned. Gavin’s wife has always lived in the country. Julie and his wife are very similar. The bizarre behavior and ghost possession are fabricated and performed. The purpose is to kill her wife and get the inheritance. Just take advantage of the male protagonist's weakness of fear of heights.
At the end of the letter, I wrote, how much I wish I had the courage to be with you again. At this moment, the camera panned to the face of Julie, the hostess, and the eyes seemed a little more determined. Julie stood up and tore the letter. The story and deception continue.
The hero and Julie continue to date, eager to find the shadow of the late heroine in Julie, she asks Julie to change her dress and hairstyle, but Julie is very unacceptable, she does not want to become another person and fall in love with the hero , She wants the male protagonist to fall in love with the true self, and there is more feminism here.
At the end of the story, the male protagonist discovered the facts through the necklace. She led the female protagonist to the top of the tower again and exposed the conspiracy. After deceitful anger, she accepted the female protagonist’s apology and kiss. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared and did it. The female protagonist who was in trouble and who had been forced by the male protagonist to collapse in her heart screamed again and fell down.
This is Hitchcock, who always uses some of the weaknesses of human psychology to bring us absurd, ironic and shocking stories.
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