Movie Report: "Rear Window"

Props to my most beloved sweetie, who knows what I like and keeps me well-stocked with knitting books and Hitchcock DVDs.

This 1954 movie was a technical exercise for Hitchcock, with a massive set of a New York tenement built inside a soundstage. James Stewart plays a restless photojournalist who's stuck at home with a broken leg and a beautiful, socialite girlfriend (Grace Kelly) he's pretty sure he loves but isn't sure he wants to marry.

Bored and aggravated, he starts observing the people in the apartments outside his window. It's a harmless (but kind of creepy) game, for the most part, until strange happenings in one apartment make him suspect murder. But can he prove it? Or is he so desperate for a story that he'll make one up?

The vast majority of the action takes place in Jeff's apartment or is observed through his window -- that was the technical trick for Hitchcock. And we, the viewers, only see and know what Jeff sees and knows -- and he's a darned unreliable narrator.

Lavish visual detail, great use of sound, and nice character actors (Thelma Ritter gets a great role as Jeff's talkative nurse) fill out the story. And the suspense is classic Hitchcock. Be sure to watch as all the little dramas in the background find their resolutions.