...Look Closer

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2013)

Rear Window is perceived to be a Hitchcock staple, and with good reason. You've got your star protagonist; a young, blonde leading lady, and a real- world scenario that provides plenty of his trademark suspense.
In one of those premises that is just meant for film, Jimmy Stewart is an injured photographer who gets interested in his apartment block. And for the first half hour, that's all that happens. We meet his not-quite- mutual girlfriend Lisa, charmingly played by Grace Kelly. Then we look at the neighbours and see a bit of who they are. One in particular catches Jeffries' eye, a salesman who likes to take late night walks...
And thus the caper begins. How can you build a case from an apartment, bound to a wheelchair? That's where all of the action takes place, leading to a certain enclosure in the film, but also a sense of home.
The question becomes, did he even do it? Jeffries works to prove it, but we also need convincing too. And Detective Doyle doesn't believe it, and our own loyalty wavers too. Once the film picks up, and it slowly picks up until the tense finale, we aren't quite sure which way the story will go.
First, eat while watching the film. The first act is slow, and maybe even a bit too long. Second, it's certainly dated, more so than say Psycho or Rope (I give Rope the slight edge to this film). Certain elements, including one very important camera flash, breaks the otherwise sublime tension that had been building to a crescendo the entire film. The falling action is also quite weak, an issue that soured the ending of North by Northwest as well. If you've enjoyed Hitchcock's other work and look past these issues then Rear Window will knock you out, but in the grand comparison these are issues that other films don't have.
Is Rear Window a great film? Yes. Is it one of the absolute best films ever made? Not quite. It is one of Hitch's finest, but that doesn't make it faultless- his films all have the same issues with slow beginnings and fast endings. Nevertheless it is a wonderful 50's thriller that makes for a fun time. 8.5/10