Title: Rear Window
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Year: 1955
Number on the AFI List: 48
FINALLY, a Hitchcock classic on the AFI list! And starring
my man Jimmy Stewart, no less!
Rear Window is a fascinating film set in one room, with the majority
of the action taking place in the apartment building next door. It’s
a hot summer in Greenwich village, so everyone is living with their windows
open. This is convenient for Mr. Jeffries (Stewart). He’s wheelchair and home bound
with a broken leg, so there is nothing better for him to do than to look out
the window and watch the different narratives taking place in his neighbor’s
apartments. In the midst of this, he becomes suspicious that one of his
neighbors, Mr. Thorwald (Raymond Burr), killed his wife. Thus, the main plot of
the film is Mr. Jeffries, his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), and his masseur
Stella (Thelma Ritter) trying to figure out how the murder happened and convince
Detective Doyle (Wendell Corey) that Mr. Thorwald is guilty. The plot is filled
with romance, suspense, and drama, never boring, well written and acted.
This film displays the fascinating storytelling Hitchcock is
known for creating; in the midst of the main plot, we get to see six other
lives played out from Mr. Jeffries’ point of view. The most
memorable are Mrs. Lonelyhearts, who can’t seem to find love, the single
dancer who constantly dances in her apartment, the tortured composer, and the
husband and wife who prefer to sleep on their fire escape. This quirky set of
neighbors all live in their own little world with little to no contact with one
another, leaving plenty of room for assumptions and suspicion.
Favorite moment: When the couple on the fire escape have to
rush to bring in their mattress before it rains.
Will I watch it again: Probably!
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