So brilliant and yet not...

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2004)

I'm quite frustrated having watched this one. I'll get to that later...
Rear Window is about Jeffries, a photographer for a magazine in a kind of half-way house (Or maybe it's his own place) after an accident broke his leg. With nothing to do all day he stares out the window onto the courtyard and watches his neighbours' various lives. However, after a while one of them seems to go missing and her husband seems suspicious in his behaviour, so Jeffries decides he must have killed her. The rest of the movie sees Jeffries bringing his girlfriend and nurse in on the paranoia, as well as a detective friend he has.
The acting is terrific, no 2 ways about it. Superb, witty dialogue which exudes intelligence handled charismatically by all players. They truly suck us into their world, as the incredibly claustrophobic direction does. The cinematography is amazingly effective given the movie is set in one room, and makes the viewer as involved in the story as any movie I've seen. Hitchcock does a fine job here.
Moreover the plot itself is utterly gripping, and, not surprisingly, suspenseful, and all 3 factors combine to give it all a level of charm which really smarts.
SPOILER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The film just 'ends'. There's no twist, no plot, no explanation, nothing. What they suspected was the truth. The end. And this is what frustrates me about the movie.
SPOILER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It's a fine piece of cinema, but ultimately because of the reason I state in the spoiler, it's a bit hollow.