Rear Window Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: Rear Window
Year: 1954
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: US
Language: English

By the 1950's Alfred Hitchcock was well established as the "Master of Suspense". International Directors, like Claude Chabrol and Henri-Georges Clouzot, would be compared to him and judged based on similarity. A decade earlier his Rebecca won Best Picture at the academy awards, and in 1955 he would make the critically acclaimed television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He could do no wrong, and Rear Window was proof of this.

The everyman actor James Stewart stars as a wheelchair bound photographer who spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and eventually becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

The hero of Rear Window, L.B. Jeffries, is a very energetic man who unfortunately has been laid up with a broken leg and a large cast. He is unable to leave his apartment, living in solitude with exception of two visitors; His visiting nurse Stella and his fiance Lisa Fremont. She lectures him, because in his despair he would rather live vicariously through the lives of others than himself. Through this character, Hitchcock displays voyeurism- a common theme amongst his films- at its finest. Obsessed with photography, he neglects to work on his own relationships. He would rather have what he can observe, rather than what he can hold.

Just like the man, the audience too is trapped. We are trapped inside his point of view, trapped inside his lack of freedom and opportunity. We are forced to share his obsession, even though we know it is wrong to spy on others. The picture presents its methods of spying in plain view, we see what he sees and draw the conclusions that he draws. There are many moments in the film where Jeffries is required to act, but he doesn't because he prefers to be in his passive role. He is not corrupt, but neither is he tied to his morals.

James Stewart plays his role as the passive player rather well. Each time I view the picture I see the character in a different light. My first viewing I greatly sympathized with the man. Grace Kelly embodies every emotion the character feels. She is intelligent, cool and elegant- yet she is very hurt that Jefferies does not give in too her. However even when her fiance doesn't give in to her sexually, the camera does. Hitchcock weaves a profound level of suspense between these characters, far elevated above the cheap thrills of modern horror flicks.

In conclusion, Rear Window has been called "the thriller equivalent of foreplay." Each brilliant scene pays off in a shocking conclusion. Indeed the act of watching any film makes us voyeurs, passive players in strangers lives, however this is a level above that. I do hope this is fondly remembered throughout time. Praise it! 5/5