Review of Rope (1948) by Adam R — 09 Sep 2016

One of Hitchcock's best, displaying both his exceptional ability to experiment with the art of filmmaking and his simple mastery of the suspense genre.

The movie is a ripped-from-the-headlines yarn based on the "perfect" murder committed by the infamous Leopold & Loeb. However, from such tawdry origins comes one of the very best thrillers ever.

Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger) are snooty intellectuals who aim to prove their superiority by murdering an "inferior" fellow student. Brandon, the pompous ringleader between the two, endeavors to turn the killing into art, mainly as a way to impress their former headmaster, Rupert (Jimmy Stewart), a man whom both students see as sharing their flexible morals.

Perhaps the most notable feature of "Rope" is the sheer length of the takes Hitchcock uses, which substantially amplifies the tension as Brandon and Phillip's post-killing dinner party slowly begins to unravel. The entire film consists of 10 takes, each ranging between five and 10 minutes; "Rope" plays more like a stage play than a typical movie.

However, no film demonstrating such technical mastery without superb acting and pacing, both of which "Rope" possesses in abundance. Stewart is, of course, amazing, while Dall and Granger are both fascinating as the murderers. Granger went on to play the protagonist of Hitchcock's later "Strangers on a Train," but his work here is superior.