Rear Window is one of the best movies of all time.
If you're a lover of thriller movies, 'Rear Window' is one of the best films of all time that will captivate you from start to finish.
It is heart-pounding suspense that will make you forget the outside world because it features a suspenseful storyline, brilliant acting, and masterful direction that have captivated audiences for decades.
Rear Window is an iconic movie directed by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. This film doesn’t feature a chase scene, an intense fight, or a military battle, but it is a work of art that captivates your eyes and keeps your mind engaged.
The story of the Rear Window film, briefly, revolves around the photographer Jefferies, who, due to a minor accident in which he breaks his leg, is forced to stay at home. This leads him to boredom, which prompts him to observe the residents of other houses around him through a magnifying glass through the rear window of his house. He becomes suspicious of the actions of one of his neighbors, and he may suspect that he has committed a heinous murder against his wife. His friend Lisa and his nurse Stella share this suspicion with him. From there, he decides to inform his old friend Tom, who works as an investigator, of his suspicions, and exciting events and surprises follow one after another in a way that makes you, as the audience with him, search for the truth of the matter.
Rear Window remains one of the most iconic and enduring thrillers in cinematic history. With its innovative narrative structure, expert direction by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, and outstanding performances by its talented cast, this film continues to engage and thrill audiences across all generations.
An overview of the main characters in the film and their contradictions.
Here, we will first discuss the power of showing the characters in the film and the contradictions within each character's nature. For example, we see Lisa enjoying beautiful scenery and a somewhat luxurious lifestyle, but she is in love with an ordinary photographer. We also observe her taking risks in certain situations to uncover the mystery, and we notice that she is very dreamy during her conversation with Jefferies.
We also see Jefferies being realistic in his relationship with Lisa, and sometimes he lets his feelings for her surface. We observe him feeling bored because he is not making progress, and at other times, he finds excitement in watching his neighbors.
Even Nurse Stella was not free of contradictions in her personality, as she saw that a major problem would inevitably arise as a direct result of Jefferies’ surveillance of his neighbors, and she would warn him about it. However, when the events escalated, she became suspicious, tried to uncover the truth, and abandoned her caution. She also has a very unique philosophy in life that is quite distinct.
There is also Detective Tom, whose job often involves suspecting any abnormal behavior in those around him. However, he began to analyze his friend Jefferies’ words about his neighbor objectively, working to dismiss the possibility of a crime. From his tone and manner of speaking, I sensed we were facing a wall of snow.
We do not miss husband Thorwald, as he either has extremely high confidence in his ability to kill his wife so coldly or has become completely indifferent due to his ongoing problems with her, as well as his sharp intelligence in covering up points that might reveal his crime.
The key events and situations in the movie Rear Window
The first scene with Jefferies and Stella features a lengthy conversation about love and marriage, where Jefferies justifies his choice to marry Lisa. He explains that she comes from a higher social class, which greatly worries him despite her strong love for him and her very idealistic nature. Stella tries to tell him that using intelligence in love can ruin the relationship, and it's better for him to follow his heart and feelings.
The second scene, which brings Jefferies and Lisa together, features a lengthy conversation between them. In this scene, we see her love for him, while he displays his extreme realism in how he deals with her. She observes that all people tend to do the same things and believes they can accept their marriage. He sees the opposite and expresses this, to the point where, as an audience, you feel frustrated and see the impossibility of them continuing together.
The third scene shows Jefferies expressing his astonishment that Thorwald leaves at three in the morning more than once, in this heavy rainy weather, while carrying his large work bag. His doubts begin to show on his face, and from that moment, he starts to watch him more carefully and with greater focus.
Jefferies grew increasingly suspicious of Thorwald with each of his actions, especially the absence of his ailing wife and when he started packing his belongings as if preparing to leave. Lisa opposed his surveillance of Thorwald, considering it immoral. Jefferies intended to wait until he saw Thorwald packing, and when he noticed the large, tightly packed box in his bedroom, his suspicions shifted from Thorwald to her.
The fourth scene is between Jefferies and his friend, Detective Tom, in which Jefferies shares his suspicions, but Tom tries to explain Thorwald's actions in a way that seems more rational and far removed from the crime. However, soon a slight doubt arises within him, prompting him to investigate the matter on his own responsibility, even though it is not an official case.
Detective Tom begins to seriously investigate the case and uncovers several points that suggest there was no crime. These include Thorwald’s wife traveling to the countryside, sending a telegram to her husband confirming her arrival and reassuring him, and the man’s generally upright behavior in most of his interactions. However, all of this causes Jefferies to cling to his original opinion. Additionally, he was guided more by his feelings than by logic, which led Tom to decide to look into the matter more thoroughly.
Jefferies observed Thorwald after Tom left, noticing he was packing his clothes and belongings for departure. He revealed another interesting detail: his wife's favorite handbag was in Thorwald's possession, and it contained her jewelry, which Thorwald was holding while making a phone call outside. When Lisa arrived, she commented that no woman leaves her house without her handbag, jewelry, especially her wedding ring. Additionally, she noted that no woman keeps her jewelry in her handbag.
Lisa decides to stay with Jefferies tonight as a romantic gesture, but they continue to discuss the matter until Tom comes to the Jefferies house and surprises them by revealing that Thorwald is completely innocent of the idea of killing his wife. The large box he tied tightly contained his wife’s clothes and had been sent to her in the countryside, and he had instructed the police headquarters there to ensure they were received for him, which they confirmed. He has that.
Tom left the place, leaving Jefferies with Lisa in disbelief and confusion, along with a deep sense of regret because they had watched a person’s life and violated his privacy, and because they didn't feel happy knowing his wife was alive.
Lisa started her steps to turn the night into a beautiful romantic evening, but fate had other plans. One of the neighbors' dogs was killed, and her friend was screaming loudly, desperate to know who did it. The strange part was that all her neighbors watched through their windows, except for one person—Thorwald, of course—prompting Jefferies and Lisa to renew their suspicions about him.
Jefferies, Lisa, and Stella gathered together as they watched Thorwald and saw him cleaning the bathroom. Jefferies noticed that Thorwald's flowers seemed shorter than before, so he concluded that he might have buried something there. This excited Lisa and Stella and prompted them to consider digging there. Jefferies then sent a small piece of paper with a note saying he knew what Thorwald had done with his wife. When Thorwald showed signs of worry, Jefferies decided to call and confront him, which caused Thorwald to leave his house. After he left, Lisa and Stella went down there and dug, but they were surprised to find nothing.
Then Lisa took a big risk. She boldly approached his house, climbed through his open window, and searched his home and belongings, where she found the wedding ring. But he returned at that moment and saw her in front of him, so he tried to violently confront her to find out what she was doing in his house. He almost severely hurt her if it hadn't been for the police arriving. Jefferies had called them when he saw what was happening to her.
Thorwald noticed that Lisa was pointing the ring at Jefferies and realized its significance immediately. When the police took Lisa away and Stella went to secure her, Jefferies was busy calling his friend Tom to inform him of what had happened and to ask him to help save Lisa, who had risked finding evidence that would convict Thorwald. Thorwald went up to Jefferies' apartment and attacked him, trying to kill him. He nearly succeeded, if not for Tom and the police arriving at Thorwald's apartment, and Jefferies shouting for help, which prompted them to quickly come to his rescue from the killer.
Thorwald confessed to his crime and revealed the location of the body. The final scene showed Jefferies and Lisa resting and relaxing, and we see that his other leg was broken like the first, meaning he would have to stay even longer watching his neighbors until he uncovered another crime.
My comment on the movie Rear Window
- First, I would like to describe how happy I was watching this movie, and that I was truly impressed by the cast and their amazing performance, and by the film’s technique of moving from one point to another, carrying a very exciting mystery that makes you anticipate the next step in it, and when it makes you think that there is no crime, you find it grabs you by your clothes. He says wait and see, something is suspicious here.
- Also, the conversations that took place between the cast were very deep, and carried an analysis of some important matters in our lives, making you follow them with passion and accuracy.
- If we talk about the direction, it is unique. He put everything in its appropriate place, including scenes and characters, and created a contradiction for each character that represents the contradictions of actual life and the psychological fluctuations that always happen to people.
- Photography excelled here despite not using great capabilities or many cameras.
- The reactions that appeared on the actors’ features are natural and distinctive in every situation, and highlight their talent in performance.
- In fact, it is a movie that pushes your mind to think about the events that happen against your will in your life, and they may lead you either to be better or to the worse, but in the end you are forced to adapt to them, while you sometimes have in your hands to change your reality or your future through two things, your thinking and your feeling together.
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