My My My....

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2018)

Rear Window is Hitchcock's simple masterpiece. He could connect to this primitive curiosity of people. This is the start of, what I believe, to be the scariest genre of horror. The simplistic anxiety of people watching, and watching people is one that is the most realistic. A suspenseful thriller combines with a charming romance, with the expertise of Hitchcock's silent film expertise. This average apartment complex is the source of entertainment and mystery.
We are introduced to our characters during a heat wave which forces them to keep their windows and doors open. This pleasant and peaceful day meets L. B. Jeffries, bored and broken. Jimmy Steward is iconic, and his abilities are highlighted in subtleties of being confined to his one room apartment.
Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter are fantastic as the girlfriend and the nurse, both in stereotypical role yet impowered by the disability of Jeffries. Kelly, in particular, places herself in suspenseful danger and is smart enough to leave with the evidence necessary to arrest our villain, Thorwald.
Hitchcock pairs his simplistically thrilling plot with controlled cinematography to create an attention vacuum. You are drawn into exactly what he wants, and the camera seems to focus on your own curiosities. His framing in Rear Window has been commentated on as watching a movie within a movie, seeing both the film as a whole and the entertainment that Jeffries sees, since a voyeur would see the world as their personal movie theatre. It could be argued that Jeffries is not our main character, but the viewer. We perceive the story through the lens of his camera. Jeffries is the personification of the viewers. His reactions are our reactions. He has no prior knowledge of the mystery, no need for additional exposition.
All in all, let's be honest. We are all curious, and if this would be remade into a contemporary film, it would be on social media, not just outside your window.