slow but good

Rating: 6/10 (14 March 2004)

This film is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most popular movies. The movie seems to start out slow and doesn't really pickup the pace until the concluding end. The film is about a man L.B. `Jeff' Jeffries played by James Stewart. Jeff has a broken leg and sits in a wheelchair, spending his time spying on his neighbors through a courtyard. When Jeff starts to suspect that one of his neighbors may have killed his wife, he asks his girlfriend Lisa, played by Grace Kelly, what he should do. At first Lisa thinks he might be going mad until she starts to get into the courtyard drama herself. As Jeff's curiosity grows toward his neighbor's abnormal behavior, the suspense starts and you're on the edge of your seat.
The only great thing in this film is the acting. Since Stewart can't move much, he uses facial expressions. Those expressions seem to say it all, it adds a lot to his characters behavior. Grace Kelly's performance is also good, as she plays the concerned girlfriend and detective at the same time.

The reviewer noticed the most peculiar thing about the music in the film. There was no actual background music placed in the movie, all the music that is heard comes from the neighbor's piano or someone's radio/record player. The reviewer has never seen this before in a movie.
This is actually a good film if you can sit through the first hour and a half. The reviewer would recommend this film to people who love Hitchcock , and or old thrillers.