Vertigo

San Francisco rooftop chase. Detective Scottie hangs from gutter, partner falls to death saving him. Develops acrophobia and vertigo. Forced to retire. Haunted by death and heights. Broken man.

Midge to Scottie: "You are not going to continue to be available. You are going to get married." Theme of obsession, control, and trying to resurrect dead through living. Love as possession.

Scottie retired, seeing Midge who loves him but he does not reciprocate. Old college friend Gavin Elster hires him to follow wife Madeleine who acts strange, possibly possessed. Skeptical but intrigued. Needs purpose.

Scottie follows Madeleine through San Francisco. Museum, cemetery, hotel. She is beautiful, mysterious, seems haunted. He becomes obsessed with watching her. Voyeurism turning into fascination and love.

Madeleine jumps in bay, Scottie rescues her. She wakes at his apartment. Connection forming. Should he stay professional or pursue her? She is married. He is hired detective. Boundaries dissolving. Obsession growing.

Scottie and Madeleine spend day together. Drive to mission. She reveals dreams of death. He falls completely in love. She is mystery he must solve and woman he must save. Entering world of romantic obsession.

Scottie and Madeleine love story deepens. She believes she will die. He promises to protect her. Their connection intense but doomed. He is trying to save her from fate. Love story built on impossible task.

Investigating Madeleine past, visiting places from her visions. Forest of sequoia trees. "Somewhere here I was born, and there I died." Romance and mystery intertwined. Promise: obsessive love and supernatural mystery.

Mission bell tower. Madeleine runs up. Scottie follows but vertigo paralyzes him. Watches helplessly as she falls to death. Cannot save her. False defeat: love lost to his weakness. Traumatized completely.

Inquest rules suicide. Scottie blamed. Gavin leaves. Scottie has breakdown, hospitalized. Catatonic. Midge tries to help but he pushes her away. Obsessed with dead Madeleine. Cannot move on. Destroyed.

Scottie released but wandering San Francisco like ghost. Visits places he went with Madeleine. Sees her everywhere. Completely lost in past. Living death. No purpose without her. Deepest despair.

Scottie sees Judy, woman who looks like Madeleine. Follows her. She is different - working class, brunette. But something familiar. Obsession transfers. Will recreate Madeleine through this stranger.

Judy is Madeleine - was hired to play dead wife. Real Madeleine murdered by Gavin. Scottie was patsy. But Judy loves Scottie now. He makes her over to look exactly like Madeleine. Obsession consummated. Horrifying synthesis.

Scottie realizes truth. Takes Judy to mission. Forces her up tower. Overcomes vertigo through rage. She confesses. Nun appears, Judy startled, falls to death. Scottie cured of vertigo but destroyed. Truth worse than illusion.

Scottie stands at edge of tower. Can look down now. Vertigo cured. But woman he loved twice is dead twice. He was tool in murder. His obsession destroyed everything. Emptiness. Worst possible ending. Absolute despair.