Review of Hitchcock's "Rear Window"

"That's a secret, private world you're looking into out there"

                   

            Throughout the film and through lead character's voyeurism the motif of doppelganger dominates.  We are introduced to Jeff, a photographer by profession, who is forced to only amuse himself with the view of the personal lives of the people he sees through his rear window.  Jeff has an inquisitive mind and a creative imagination.  With these two elements and a central theme of voyeurism, the act itself is brought into the spotlight.  People, whether knowing or not, often try to perceive patterns around them.  Because people have egos they also project on to these patterns a version of their own lives and beliefs. 

            We learn that Jeff is not married on the phone call from his boss.  Because of his broken leg he is denied work so Jeff adds that “if you don't pull me out if this swamp of boredom, I'm gonna do something drastic...I'm gonna get married.”  This is where the first and most implicit example reveals itself.  As Jeff is talking we see a man, Thorwald, returning home from work.  His wife is lying in bed with a berating breath.  Jeff puts himself in this man's shoes and describes the sights and sounds of a broken marriage.  He emphasizes his thoughts on marriage finishing his with the notion of “the nagging wife.”  Jeff is clearly irritated so much so that he allows an itch within his cast to take control of him.  The first doppelgangers are partially reversed.  Though Jeff sympathizes with the man coming home from work, he is closer physically to the man's wife who is an invalid.  Lisa parallels the invalid with her own nagging behavior.  

            All of the residents of the apartment complex under the scrutiny of Jeff's gaze represent the different stages of marriage as well as repercussions from decisions not to marry.  The newlywed couple getting their first apartment and the hope and happiness that lives in these initial days of being together.  Jeff probably smiles when he thinks of the thought of Lisa joining him on this adventure. 

            We see the bachelor married to his work in the arts.  Jeff could be this man for the rest of his life if that was what he wanted.  In addition we see the woman living alone acting out a romantic dinner by herself.  This could easily be Lisa wishing that Jeff had asked her hand in marriage.  Even though Jeff outright states otherwise that she wouldn't have to worry about being alone.  The couple only seen in the peripheral of the panning shots with a child shows the benefits of legacy through procreation.  Children often play in the space between the buildings near the street.  Though they are never acknowledged, their free spirits dance around in between the various stages of realities. 

            The older couple on the third floor seem happy enough with only a dog to keep them company.  They never bicker at each other and only express grief when their dog is found murdered.  Though they seemed to never have had children, it goes to show that happiness can still blossom with just being together. 

            When Lisa first enters Jeff's apartment her shadow envelops him as she grows nearer.  This is an obvious display of how Jeff feels about her.  She is so ominous in her perfection that he can only live in her shadow as part of her, not as freely as a whole man with her by his side.  But, this is also where he loses himself and gets wrapped up in her alluring and perplexing aura.  He even asks, “who are you?”  Lisa's exciting mystery is dissected almost immediately revealing the tedious relationship the two share.  The dusty old cigarette box is symbolic in the sense that Jeff acquired it from Shanghai, most likely on one of his adventures.  Lisa wants to buy him a new one engraved with his name.  She goes on about her life with details that eventually leads Jeff to look out the window for relief. 

            Miss Torso “doing a woman's hardest job: juggling wolves,” is an example of what Jeff thinks Lisa is like at home in her own apartment.  Lisa expresses herself through Miss Torso stating that she doesn't love any of the wolves.  When asked how she knew, Lisa reminds Jeff of the notion that the apartment in view resembles her own.  A brief look to the newlywed's closed shade is contrasted by a glance at Thorwald's wife nitpicking the items he brought to her in bed for dinner.

            After a heated discussion resulting with Lisa telling Jeff 'goodbye,' he is for the first time presented with the thought of losing her for good.  A quick pan of the outside shows the blinds drawn in Thorwald's apartment.  A scream and broken glass can be heard as a murder commences.  The murder itself represents both the death of their love and the catalyst for the rebirth of attraction for Lisa and Jeff.

            It is important to note the insight of the conscience personified by Jeff's nurse, Stella.  Jeff gets his first glimpse of Thorwald's darker demeanor through his interaction with the neighbor about the proper amount of water for his flowers.  This is when Stella enters.  She first describes the current sentence for a “peeping tom,” later to add what would happen in the old days.  This rightly brings Jeff back to a less intrusive reality for a few moments.  Stella goes on to add that people should get outside their own house and look in for a change.  Though it is noted that the phrase is cited, the meaning is nonetheless very true and also completely overlooked.  In addition, through Stella's self-declared foresight we are introduced to the likelihood of 'trouble' lurking and reflecting back through the voyeur's gaze.  Again the conscience is overlooked and Jeff equates the word trouble with his girlfriend Lisa.  “She is too perfect,” he says of the woman who is in love with him, he also implies that she is not adventurous enough.

            Soon Jeff's casual viewing iterations mature into paranoid voyeurism.  His paranoia grows with Thorwald's paranoia and Jeff feeds off of it.  Jeff begins to build on the idea that he knows what crime was committed.  He utilizes the tools of his trade as a photographer.  He is able to creep in even closer with his binoculars and telephoto lens. 

            Jeff spins the yarn to his nurse as well as Lisa.  Eventually they, too, become thoroughly engaged.  As the audience watches with Jeff we see that just looking isn't enough for Jeff so he instructs the manipulation of his screen.  This is when Lisa begins going on 'assignments' for Jeff.  He calls his friend in the police department to investigate.

            Jeff is courting the killer.  Each step closer adds to the suspense and intrigue.  He has been listening and he has seen, but now he is reaching out to touch.  Lisa is his right hand and his nurse is his left.  The element of danger is in the air adding to the anticipation.  He is completely engaged and mistakes are being made.  Lisa takes it upon herself to enter the realm of the site of the crime.  When Thorwald comes home she is caught.  Perhaps she has suffered the fate of Icarus, but the safety net has been thrown and the police arrive in time.  Lisa does, however point to the victim's ring on her finger.  The camera then pans and tilts up locking the gaze of the new voyeur with the first.  The doppelgangers finally meet each other and Jeff's world comes crashing down as a result.  Luckily for Jeff the forces of good prevail and like a phoenix rising from the ashes a romance with Lisa is rekindled. 

            Among the many reasons to utilize the motif of doppelganger within a theme that involves the act of voyeurism are most importantly the identifications of oneself and those closest around us.  We as a race of thinkers want to feel and we want to experience.  But, we also need to relate to what we are experiencing.  The more we can relate the farther we can let go to our immediate surroundings and sink deep into a well written and produced story.  The movie going experience itself relies heavily on the voyeurism of the ticket purchasers.  Hitchcock presents a movie within a movie that is a delight to watch.