Looking through a Rear Window ~
This film brought me on a wild rollercoaster of emotions! The story really threw me for a loop as halfway through the film, I was convinced the murder didn't even happen, and that the main character had gotten it wrong. I really like the slow build of the story, it really feels like you are just living a mundane day-to-day life in this apartment in summer weather. It was also surprising to see a disabled protagonist which is rare to find in films, especially one from the 50's!
I really enjoyed the wide camera lens and the idea of "looking". The broad shot really made you feel a sort of grandness and the space felt really wide. The way every little window looked small, and each window and someone doing a different action was a favorite of mine. I am really shocked that they stuck with that broad style and never did any close-ups! Or when they did close-ups, it was with the camera, as if you are Jeff looking through the camera! It really gave me a sense of width. Movies nowadays are always very close up in detail, but the camera was drawn back to really give you a feel of this wide array of different people in their apartments!
My favorite scene has to be when Lisa is going to deliver the letter under the antagonist's door. It's a pure feat for a woman to be in an action scene, and she's smart too. She really feels like an independent woman trying to solve the mystery for herself along with helping Jeff. I love the wide shot of her trying to run down the stairs as the antagonist goes to get the letter. The way two characters are in the same scene, one in the top room, the other in the bottom, but both still fit perfectly in the shot, is just gorgeous to me!
All that being said, there is one problematic aspect about this film, and maybe it's purposeful, but also pushes a toxic mindset. I am referring to the "peeping tom" aspect of this film and how the ballerina character is objectified, and there is never any consequence that comes to Jeff for peeping at her. "The Ethics of Looking and the "Hamless" Peeping Tom by PopCultureDetective puts it best. The video talks about the "ethics of looking" and mostly on how "peeping toms" have shaped men's view on objectifying a woman's body without any consent. It is a great video on how filmmakers really can influence how we view others and ourselves.
I really liked how you brought up the great aspects of the movie as well as the bad ones. When watching the movie I never looked into the disability of the character. I didn't think about the time when the movie was created and how disability was never really included in film during that period. It truly is amazing that they incorporated that into the film. I also liked how you brought up the issue of objectifying women. I hated the scene where he was just looking at the women changing at her window. It made me uncomfortable and I hated that it was okay for a movie to be an influence for other people to do the same. People get ideas from movies, and in this case it was not a good one.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about how you connected the film to the ethics of looking. Movies can change one's views on any situation with the angle of a camera. In fact, movies do so much to make us think and we don't even realize it. Filmmakers insert tiny changes to a scene to draw attention to something without viewers even noticing!
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