In this episode, Dara takes a deep dive into two very different on-screen depictions of what the French call ‘amour fou’, or ‘mad love’. 1986’s Betty Blue (37.2 Le Matin) and Hitchcock’s 1958 classic ‘Vertigo’ are the two texts in question.
Dara recalls the impact of Betty Blue on his 18-year-old self and how it’s sexual frankness was a mind-altering experience in terms of what he felt movies could show. Rewatching it for the podcast he found it less surprising but still quite compelling.
After a friend confessed to being nonplussed by ‘Vertigo’, Dara found his enthusiasm reinvigorated for the tale of obsession and manipulation and male crisis. He discovers an extraordinary revelation from Hitchcock in relation to one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
Having discussed both films in some detail, Dara wonders about the validity of regarding them through a misogynist lens. He argues for checking one’s morality at the door when it comes to a certain type of film. He advocates the importance of individual critical thinking, not only with regard to provocative art, but also in the face of cancel culture and the reductive discourse of woke posturing.
And then there’s the significance to the themes of both movies of the chimney Dara is currently demolishing. What does the chimney represent? And why did Betty Blue come in his head when he was taking it apart one brick at a time? What’s the connection?