A Window Worth Staring Through

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2018)

Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window tells the story of magazine photographer L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) as he recovers from an accident that left him confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg. Jeffries finds himself with little to do except sit in his apartment and look out through his window into the courtyard. From here he begins to casually spy on the day to day activities of his neighbors through their open windows. The plot thickens when he begins to suspect on of his neighbors, Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) of killing his wife. Jeffries convinces his insurance company nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter), girlfriend Lisa Freemont (Grace Kelley), and detective friend Thomas Doyle (Wendell Corey) of his suspicions and together they work to find out what happened to Mrs. Thorwald.
Hitchcock's genius shines in this film as he decides to leave the camera (and so the audience) trapped in the apartment alongside Jeffries. The plot is viewed through Jeffries point of view, nearly every shot of the view from his window is accompanied by a shot of him reacting to what he and the audience just saw. The movie is a study into the compulsive voyeurism and natural curiosity of humans. The audience shares in Jeffries's compulsive curiosity to find out where Mrs. Thorwald had disappeared too. And just like how Jeffries eagerly watches Thorwald searching for another piece to the mystery the audience watches too, awaiting the next development with the same zeal. The limited camera also helps to create a wonderful sense of suspense throughout the whole film. Until the final moments of the film here is enough conflicting evidence that Thorwald could be either a murderer or an innocent salesman, creating a tense climax with a superbly suspenseful build up.
The entire set itself is so well built and tells such a story by itself that it almost feels like a character. Each other apartment Jeffries can see is visually distinct and looks like a real lived in place, and each of their inhabitants seem to have full lives despite only having small glimpses into them. There seems to be a whole other set of movies playing for Jeffries outside his window, Miss Lonelyhearts's hopeless quest for a companion, the newlyweds' transition from the honeymoon phase to the nagging relationship of a long married couple, or the songwriter's fight to get his music produced. Each of these small cursory stories is still told with such elegance and technique on the periphery of the main story that it feels as tho Jeffries could have found interest in watching any one of the windows, not just the one hiding a murder. It's quite an accomplishment that in its 2hr run time Hitchcock managed to build a completely believable little world to tell his story in.
On top of all the masterful film making the acting within Rear Window is extraordinarily good. James Stewart's plays Jeffries with such subtlety and depth, especially all the wordless reaction shots in which he seems to say more with just a raised eyebrow or furrowed brow than lesser actors would with a monoloque. On top of this Grace Kelly bring a great performance to the table as well, playing Lisa with elegance that gives way to a childlike recklessness and eagerness once she becomes invested in the mystery. Thelma Ritter and Wendell Corey bring a lot to the stage with their supporting performances as well. Even the actors who pay the neighbors, rarely getting a word of dialogue or any real character development still give off the sense of being fully realized real people incredibly well.
All in all Rear Window is a masterpiece of a movie that combined the immaculate filmmaking of Hitchcock with a truly captivating plot all centered around an incredibly well thought out and executed gimmick. Who ever thought that a rear apartment window could be all you needed for such a great film?