The Review: Rear Window

Rear Window 8/10

I really liked this movie. L gave me a list of movies to choose from thinking I was gonna pick a musical. I choose this instead. I had heard of it and knew that it had Jimmy Stewart and he stared out a window. I thought it was because he was a weirdo or something. Turns out he (Jeff) got injured taking photos at a car race and his leg got jacked up so now he has to wear a cast for six weeks. This thing goes up his whole leg and up to his crotchal region! He sits in his window just looking at neighbors across the way and making up aspects of their lives. He got an unhappy married couple with a bedridden wife. Newlyweds. Another couple with a dog that sleeps on the balcony because the heat. A lady that dances 24/7.

Jeff has a nurse sent from the insurance company that takes care of him by rubbing his back with oils. Jeff is also dating this lady named Lisa who is a socialite. She wants him to stay in the city and bounce around with her. He wants to travel the world taking photos and living a rough life. He treats her kinda shitty. One night during a storm Jeff sees his neighbor with the wife in bed leaving with a suitcase over and over in the pouring rain and starts to get suspicious. Jeff falls asleep and when he wakes sees this neighbor, Thorwald, leaving with a woman after cleaning a saw and a big ass knife. Next some men come moving things out of the house like luggage and such. Jeff is like “This dude has killed his wife!” He tells the nurse and Lisa and then alerts his friend Tom who is a detective. Tom is skeptical and has many points that could prove that Jeff is being paranoid.

One night Lisa and the nurse make up a plan to dig in the flowers that Thorwald has. Earlier that dog I mentioned had its neck broken by someone (likely Thorwald). They don't find anything there but Lisa decides that she is Batman and ends up climbing in through Thorwald's window and poking around. Jeff and the nurse get distracted because they think this lonely neighbor is about to kill herself and call the cops. Thorwald returns and catches Lisa and starts attacking her. The police show up and Lisa shows Jeff that she has the missing wife's wedding ring on. Thorwald then sees that Jeff is watching from across the way. Lisa is taken to jail real quick while Thorwald heads to Jeff's place. His door is never locked! The only way he can defend himself is by taking pictures and slightly blinding Thorwald.

Thorwald ends up getting Jeff dangling from the window while everyone watches. He ends up falling and being caught. And by being caught I mean they sort of break his fall and he ends up breaking both legs. This man was just about to get out that cast! Thorwald ends up confessing to murdering his wife. Lisa ends up staying in the city with Jeff. The end. This was good but I don't know why these two decided to stay together. Its not gonna go well for them. I enjoyed the fact that there was an actual crime because for a bit I began to think that Jeff was just being delusional and that his neighbor was innocent and a victim of Jeff's strangeness.

James Stewart as L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies

Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont

Wendell Corey as NYPD Det. Lt. Thomas "Tom" J. Doyle

Thelma Ritter as Stella

Raymond Burr as Lars Thorwald

Judith Evelyn as Miss Lonelyhearts

Ross Bagdasarian as the songwriter

Georgine Darcy as Miss Torso

Click here for previous The Review.