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Rating: A story by Cornell Woolrich is the source that inspired Hitchcock to create this extraordinary thriller, clear and stylistically perfect. As in almost all of his films, the director doesn't rely on violent scenes to keep the audience on edge; he merely needs to awaken the voyeur within us. The film is built on an intelligent dramatic crescendo, beginning with a relaxed narrative rhythm, which gradually melds with an unsettling atmosphere, becoming increasingly distressing as the minutes pass. From the very first scenes, the director pulls the viewer into the film, into this wonderful microcosm in which Jeff (James Stewart) lives.
The plot of the film "Rear Window" is both simple and brilliant; photographer Jeff is confined to a wheelchair due to a broken leg and, out of boredom, begins to observe the neighbors in the apartment complex on a sweltering summer day. The viewer is forced to identify with the protagonist because what he sees is what we see, his eye is our eye, and, like Jeff, we become witnesses to the private lives of the tenants he observes, their way of living, their weaknesses. The apartments facing the courtyard offer a fascinating showcase of ordinary life: Mr. Thorwald and his wife constantly arguing, a drunken musician, an attractive dancer courted by several men, an elderly childless couple deeply fond of their dog...
One night, Jeff hears a piercing scream, and afterward, he notices Thorwald leaving the building several times at night, carrying an aluminum suitcase. The next day there's no trace of his wife, and he later observes Thorwald meticulously cleaning the bathroom. The suspicion that the man may have committed a crime grows in his mind, and he confides his hunch to his friend Lisa (Grace Kelly), his masseuse, and an old acquaintance, a detective. But no one believes him, stuck at his observation post, he cannot act, and we too feel chained to the same wheelchair. The determined Jeff seems (apparently) indifferent to Lisa's love for him; their romantic relationship will take shape through the course of events, during the reconstruction of the crime. After the man informs her that he saw Thorwald open the missing woman's handbag and take out some jewelry, Lisa begins to take an interest in the mysterious case. One evening, the young woman enters the suspected killer's apartment to look for the jewelry. Jeff watches from his room, agitated, as she rummages through the place; when she finds the potential victim's wedding ring, she puts it on her finger and shows it towards Jeff's room... but Thorwald is already behind the entrance door...
An Hitchcock in great form, created a film rich in splendid scenes for innovation, rhythm, creativity, pictorial refinement, and character definition. A gem where everything works perfectly, from the meticulous reconstruction of the small world living in the houses surrounding the courtyard, to the complex and heterogeneous picture constituted by the film's minor characters. A work executed in perfect harmony with a combination of voyeurism and an in-depth study of suspense, a clear and coherent design that sometimes prompts a smile, but also reflection on common life, with its small vices... and its violence.
PS. The film was shot almost entirely in a single room, like "Rope" and "Dial M for Murder".
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