Review of Rear Window (1954) by Hannah Rose C — 13 Jul 2012

This is possibly my favorite movie of all time (or at the very least in the top five). Even after seeing the film an almost embarrassing number of times it can still get me. I find my heart pumping raggedly and catch myself once again genuinely concerned about the characters, even though I know how it ends.

I will not ruin it so I will tell you what my father told me before I watched it: it's about a man who may or may not have witnessed a murder. The slightly longer version goes like this: L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) (known to his friends and colleagues simply as "Jeff") is a magazine photographer who has covered everything from wars in third worlds to car races.

This last one ended up the biggest problem as Jeff was caught in an accident leaving him with a badly broken leg. He's not allowed to leave his apartment and is visited by his perfectly-perfect fashion model girlfriend (played by Grace Kelly) and the insurance company nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter).

Stuck in his apartment for weeks on end Jeff's natural wanderlust and curiosity get to him and he finds himself watching his neighbors in the building across the courtyard. This is where Jeff first notices the strange behavior of salesman Lars Thorwald and the sudden absence of his wife. Jeff is determined to get to the bottom of this disappearance if it's the last thing he does.

From a creative standpoint it's remarkable, the entire movie is shot from inside a single set. The setting never changes, we are always in Jeff's apartment watching his neighbors with him. We never cross the courtyard and only venture into it at the very end.

Despite only being able to hear them in voices dulled by the glass and view them as miniatures of themselves we get to know the other neighbors. We can see into their lives and witness their goings-on, from their interactions with others to the more personal moments they spend behind locked doors, from the energetic and ever popular "Miss Torso," the clinically depressed "Miss Lonely-Heart" forever looking for someone with whom to share her life, the determined songwriter, the newlyweds, the middle-aged couple with the adorable dog they lower into the yard from a basket, the couple seeking to escape the crippling summer heat on the fire-escape, to, of course, the strange and ominous Thorwald himself. Dialogue is wonderfully organic and the film is superbly acted, shot, and (obviously) directed. But then, I don't think Hitchcock was capable of making a bad movie.

Plot-wise it keeps you guessing up until the very end. I watched this movie with a friend notorious for being That Guy, the one who can't suspend their disbelief for two-hours and will point out that Bambi's mom was drawn so you shouldn't feel bad and that even if a character dies the actor has already been in a half-dozen other movies thus it's no big deal. It's impossible to watch movies with her because she'll figure out the plot and watch it unfold without reacting. "Rear Window" was the exception. It's the only movie I've ever seen her genuinely react to, and not just react to, scream at and watch hands clapped over her mouth ready to shoot to do the same to her eyes should the scene get any more intense.

SHORT VERSION:

This is a movie done right, suspense done right. I don't think it could ever be replicated. From Jeff's helplessness (having a broken leg he can't exactly run for help or away), to the intriguing characters to the setting crafted to let you see everything and nothing at once (I found myself trying, subconsciously, to peer around the blinds obscuring windows from view), to the genuine anxiety of not knowing what you've just seen. There may be a murder here, but there might not be and this movie keeps you guessing until the very end.