Rear Window (1954)

‘Rear Window’ is a crime thriller about a documentary photographer named Jeff, who is bounded to his apartment after breaking his leg. Out of boredom, he seeks entertainment from observing people in the surrounding apartments when he becomes convinced that he has witnessed a murder yet a lot of the people around him are sceptical.

‘Rear Window’ is directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who also directed films such as ‘Vertigo’, ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Birds’. James Stuart plays the protagonist of the film (L. B. Jefferies), Grace Kelly plays Lisa Fremont (Jeff’s Girlfriend) and Thelma Ritter plays Stella.

Although having so many characters helped me feel familiarised with the setting, I did feel as though a few of them didn’t help move the plot along and therefore weren’t necessary. However, I enjoyed this film because of how it lets the audience put clues together along with the protagonist and how the movie slowly built suspense up until the last moment. I also really liked how the whole film is shot from within the courtyard with the only view of the outside world being a small alleyway, making it easier to connect with the characters and get emersed into the world of the film.