My favourite Hitchcock movie

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2013)

A mild-mannered wartime photographer finds himself immobile, stuck in a wheelchair, due to a broken leg. Overawed by the lack of adventure, L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies (James Stewart) opts for the only available form of entertainment - peeping on his neighbours and watching the ongoings from his rear window. Soon he finds himself fascinated with the quirky people, who surround him. He witnesses an odd couple sleeping on a balcony, who send their dog on walks by lowering him in a basket, wryly smiles seeing the closed curtains of a newly-wed couple or spies on a beautiful ballet dancer just opposite him.
His fiancée Lisa Carol Fremont (Grace Kelly) remains critical of Jeff's behaviour, but decides to remain silent, as the relationship has seemingly become strained with Jeff unsure of whether the fashion-obsessed women is a right fit for an adventure-crazed photographer. Thus Lisa takes an interest in her boyfriend's newly found hobby. When the bed-bound wife of one of Jeff's neighbours suddenly 'moves away', a new whole area of obsession starts to form, as he suddenly suspects foul play - murder! A timely classic and a must watch for anyone who needs to know the basics of crafting a thriller. The action itself is confined mostly to one room, whilst the camera peers out of the window to observe the world outside. Despite this lack of dynamism, "Rear Window" builds a superb atmosphere, slowly straying from the hilarious off-the-wall neighbours and focusing onto a mystery, which for the majority of the movie we are unsure as to whether or not the whole crime is purely in the mind's eye. Even the acting of an bygone era, works perfectly creating a sense of both confinement and suspense, where J.B.'s darkly comedic character is as immaculate as ever. Add to this the lovable duplicity of Liza, who stands by her man, never doubting him outright and only in the last scene do we receive a true sense of the brilliance of her character - the initially simplistic and limited woman, who gains depth throughout, but the true coup de grace of Hitchcock's brilliant movie derives from this scene, which forces us to rethink the whole movie from the point of view of Liza, arguably the truly key protagonist of the movie.