Thots and Expressions..

Rear Window (1954) April 26, 2009

A magazine photographer recuperating with broken bones after an accident.. His pretty and perfectionist girlfriend who he feels is too perfect for him.. A bustling neighbourhood in which an array of rear windows open into the lives of all the people living there… This is the setting of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1995 thriller “Rear windows” starring James Stewart as Mr Jeffery and Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont. 

Loneliness, love, lust, anger, desperation – all shades of emotions are available for Mr Jeffery to contemplate upon as he sits whiling away his boredom and waiting for his broken leg to heal. This row of windows becomes his lifeline, and amidst this ennui, he comes across a startling discovery of strange going-ons in the window across his. But haven’t we heard the saying – “Curiosity killed the cat”, and truly enough it landed Jeff in trouble too!!. The sudden disappearance of the wife of his across-the-window neighbour piques his curiosity, and make him suspect that the neighbour has murdered his wife. Jeff briefly toys with the ethical dilemma of “Should we spy at our neighbours?” , but as the plot unravels, he finally vindicates his stand. The rest of the story is a roller coaster ride of how he finally does it.

The main protagonist is a witty young man, with a la Sherlock Holmes kind of detective instinct, and a thirst for excitement that fully engages the audience throughout the film. Grace Kelly as Lisa startles us in the end with her pluck and audacity, making Jeff finally rediscover his lover through this adventure. The movie has its own share of whodunnit moments, and that’s what keeps you riveted to it till the end.The dialogues are crisp, the screenplay commendable, and you can feel a distinct old world charm throughout. Definitely a worth watch film!