Review of Rope (1948) by Amanda C — 25 Mar 2018

Rope, was such an incredibly interesting film to me. I enjoyed that the film was meant to play out in real time. I especially appreciated the ways that Hitchcock chose to cut away from a take and move into the next take, as if it was all one continuous motion.

Utilizing the camera and having such fluidity from scene to scene, all while maintaining the tension and suspense was so interesting to me to watch. It truly felt like no beat was missed throughout the whole film.

One scene in particular that stood out was in the beginning of the film, just after Brandon and Phillip kill David, the rope that was used to kill him is still hanging out of the chest, looming. Brandon and Phillip are both moving into and out of the foreground of the shot, cleaning up for the party later that night.

The rope is constantly in frame and in focus, the shadow over the rest of the film and night. That moment is such a great setup for later when Brandon gives David's dad the books, and chooses to tie them together with the same rope that he killed his son with.

The pacing especially was fantastic. The film never moved too fast or too slow, always just right. One particular example that I enjoyed was when Mrs. Wilson was taking care of everything in the dining room, and cleaning up dinner from the chest.

The shot stays on her, never moving, as she takes care of each item in the dining room and the sitting room. The tension slowly but surely builds, and she almost opens the lid of the chest, but is stopped just in time by Brandon.