Rear Window Review

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2012)

The film Rear Window kept me on the edge of my seat nearly the whole time. It made me interested in all these other people's lives by showing brief glimpses of everyone from the rear window's of their apartments. You may get the feeling that Jeff (James Stewart) is kind of peeping tom in the sense that he just sits in his wheelchair all day and watches what his neighbors do, but you have to realize that in a sense, you are doing the same thing as you watch the movie. This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat just basically because you never know what is going to happen next. You get to form your own ideas and opinions throughout the movie, because a lot of things happen to make you believe his neighbor killed his wife, but at the same time, Jeff's friend the detective makes you believe that nothing really happened. You never really find out until Jeff's girlfriend is in the neighbors apartment herself, trying to find her own clues. The most pivotal moment in this movie is near the end when Jeff's neighbor is in his apartment. You don't know whether or not he is going to kill Jeff, or if he is going to ask him why he is watching him because you still aren't sure whether or not he killed his wife. In this scene it is dark, the only light is coming from the street lights outside. You can see the outline of his neighbor and of him. You see the man up close as Jeff flashes the light bulb to one of his camera's, as he walks up to Jeff. Jeff is defenseless and alone in his wheelchair and when I found out the neighbors intentions I could feel anxiety and stress, wondering what was going to happen next. That is what I truly loved most about this movie. I love a movie that keeps me guessing, and gets my heart beating a little faster. This movie does all of those things, and it doesn't leave you guessing at the end. You know that the "bad guy" goes to jail, the "good guy" survives, and you even get to see how his neighbors come together at the end and all seem to be friends and become closer after what has happened. It also shows you how Jeff and his girlfriend become closer. It let's you know what happens in the end, and I love that because it seems that most movies these days leave you guessing and never gives you a picture of what happens next without adding on thirty minutes to the movie. This film could be watched by anyone who likes to watch suspense films. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I hope you do as well.
Sinclair Community College H.D.