Review of Rope (1948) by Chris A — 04 Feb 2011

Rope is among Hitchcock's finest films (although pretty much all of them are), in which two classmates (Brandon and Phillip) strangle their "inferior" peer (David) to death, and hide his body in a chest. To test the perfection of their crime, they throw a party at their apartment, inviting David's parents, his soon-to-be fiance, and a few others. They even serve the food right on the chest in which David's body is hidden.

The film has such an incredible style. There are hardly any cuts in the film. It's based on a play, and Hitchcock wanted it to feel like one, so he made the whole film flow fluidly as one scene. Most of the cuts (there are only about 10) are "masked" by the camera passing by something dark, like the back of someone's suit jacket, and it will cut while the screen is shrouded in darkness. This illusion works incredibly well, and the whole film truly feels as if it was done in just one take. It's an incredible accomplishment. There's no other film like it.

The film is way ahead of it's time (1948). It has the usual Hitchcock suspense and tension all throughout. We, the audience, are with Brandon and Phillip. We know that the body is in the chest. Throughout the entire film we keep our eye on the chest, just as they do. There's one incredibly well-done shot, that gets me so uncomfortable I begin to bite my nails. Every time. I can't help it. You'll know it when you get there. Hitchcock's incredible eye for dread and suspense has never been matched.

Another aspect of the film that was ahead of its time, was the way it dealt with homosexuality. Brandon and Phillip are homosexuals, but that term is never used in the film. The film hardly even hints at this. We know that they are homosexuals because of their mannerisms; the way they interact with each other. It's been said that the main reason this factor was kept so low-key, is that homosexuality was a very taboo subject in the arts in the U.S. then. I don't know if that was actually the case or not, but all I know is that it is incredibly well-done and feels real.

All of the performances are magnificent, especially that of James Stewart (Rupert), John Dall (Brandon), and Joan Chandler (Janet). It's a shame that Dall and Chandler did not have bigger careers than they did. They are magnificent here. Rope is among the first films either of them made, and it was the only notable film either of them ever did.

I highly recommend seeing the film. It's one of my favorites. Put it on your Netflix queue or something.