A photographer who is wheelchair bound due to an accident will be looking out of his window everyday and will be looking at the everyday activities of his neighbors. One day, he sees one of his neighbors wife missing. He suspects that the husband killed the wife. He starts his investigation from the comfort of his wheelchair. This is the basic story of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window". This film is one of the best crime films that was every made. The simplicity of the story is mind blowing, there are no guns, knives or violence used in the film.
The movie is filled with suspense and curiosity. The character L.B. Jefferies played by James Stewart is a photographer and an adventurer and will be tired of sitting at one place and will be seeking for something interesting. His window will be the source of entertainment to him, there will be a lot of interesting people around him. One of the interesting things about the film is that the entire film takes place inside one room. This is also seen in "12 Angry Men".
This movie is all about the visuals. The starting 3 minutes of the film where the camera moves around all across the things that will be outside the window introduces us to all the characters and where they live and also gives an idea about who they are. Hitchcock is a master in doing this, having a background in making silent films Hitchcock has the power to create visuals that speaks on its own without the use of dialogues or narration.
There are many characters in this film, but most of them don't have dialogues. All the neighbors are out side the window are away away from the window and the only way to make them express is by the use of body language. One of the best example of this is the scene where Miss Lonelyhearts is imagining her husband in front of her and is eating dinner with him. This tells a lot of about Miss Lonelyhearts, without talking a word she expresses her husband is no more and is depressed because of his absence.
The performance by James Stewart in this film is amazing. The story depends on the facial expression of L.B. Jefferies. The ability to express what is inside the mind by using very subtle expressions is really difficult to master. For most part we see L.B. Jefferies looking out of his window and having opinions on everyone, expressing this non-verbally is very difficult. This movie is a shows the talent and mastery L.B. Jefferies had when it comes to acting.
Thank you for reading this post. This is one of the rare films where the protagonist is sitting at one place and doing all the work. I highly recommend this film for people who crave for suspense or thriller films, this is one of the best out there.
