Venice 2025: ‘Kim Novak’s Vertigo’ Reexamines the Actress’ Legacy
by Alex Billington September 2, 2025
That is the story of a beloved Hollywood actress and her life off display exterior of her motion pictures. Kim Novak is the award-winning star of Hitchcock’s all-timer thriller thriller traditional Vertigo, and tons of different traditional motion pictures like Pushover, Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm, Pal Joey, Jeanne Eagels, Strangers When We Meet, Kiss Me Silly, and lots of others. She’s now 92 years previous and nonetheless going robust. Kim Novak’s Vertigo is a model new documentary that includes Kim Novak reflecting again on her life in Hollywood earlier than she left the movie enterprise for good within the Nineteen Seventies. She received uninterested in being handled as merely a fairly lady. It is the newest creation from Swiss doc filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe, recognized for his many acclaimed doc movies about cinema historical past – together with 78/52 (about Hitchcock’s Psycho), Reminiscence: The Origins of Alien, Leap of Religion: William Friedkin on the Exorcist, Lynch/Oz, and this yr’s Chain Reactions. Alexandre was fortunate sufficient to befriend Kim – she actually talks about how she feels linked to him when he sits right down to interview her in her house. This fascinating movie is about identification and the way Hollywood steals it. And about how she was capable of uncover herself in roles, even when she ended up getting uninterested in appearing after many years of acclaimed work.
Novak’s authentic title was Marilyn Pauline Novak (her dad and mom have been of Czech descent); she took the title “Kim Novak” as a stage title when she entered Hollywood in 1954 after signing with Columbia Photos. The movie is available in at a brisk 77 minutes, and begins out with a reasonably fast biopic have a look at her early days and life earlier than arriving at Vertigo. Alexandre O. Philippe just isn’t recognized for making linear, straight-forward docs and that is no exception. His narrative bounces round from Kim telling tales and leaving voice messages for him in fashionable occasions, to her work on Vertigo which was the primary movie Alexandre fell in love with whereas rising up, to her early days in Hollywood and appearing legacy. Not a lot time is spent exterior her movie profession – it by no means actually explains what she has been doing since she left Hollywood within the Nineteen Seventies. The actual focus of Alexandre’s movie is on her identification, which is particularly distinctive as a result of it is also associated to the three completely different characters she performs in Vertigo: Carlotta, Madeleine, and Judy. Novak reveals that she really doesn’t like being checked out and hated being the gorgeous blonde of cinema, however after all did her greatest to play the roles anyway. She additionally discusses how she felt like extra of a “reactor” than an actor. Alexandre is greatest at working in lots of of movie clips that completely depict no matter she is explaining about herself or her performances.
Many actresses, particularly from this period, have talked about how a lot they despised the “stunning starlet” standing they have been assigned as Hollywood actors managed by studios. And in the end that is what she received so uninterested in & why she left, which she repeats usually. She additionally repeats over & over how a lot she needed to battle to remain true to herself, and be herself, and follow her personal values & identification. The one drawback is that for all this movie will get into, she by no means really explains what these values are and what “being herself” actually means. Apart from the truth that she is a large animal lover – at one level she had a pet goat, and in addition a pet bluebird and canines. Nonetheless, Kim Novak’s Vertigo is a heartfelt, touching, healthful movie that includes Novak being splendidly trustworthy about her life and her decisions and her performances. There may be clearly loads of time spent on Vertigo, analyzing every little thing about her character & costumes. And most significantly, she explains how making this movie with Alexandre allowed her to lastly recognize who she is all of those years later. it is moderately stunning to see. This doc might solely be loved by die-hard movie geeks and Kim Novak followers, however there’s nonetheless one thing endearing about watching her open up & converse freely about being a film star. She appears so inventive & charming. And I hope her life’s decisions will encourage extra lady to remain true to who they’re, too.
Alex’s Venice 2025 Score: 7.5 out of 10Observe Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
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