Rear Window
<PERSON> has a way of playing with his audience that will simply never fail to purely amaze me.
The character of <PERSON>, played by the brilliant <PERSON>, perfectly illustrates how personal prejudices can allow to identify something that "doesn't fit the norm". The suspense caused by millions of little suspicions while not being able to confirm a single one of them makes for a film full of held breaths and attentive eyes from the audience, which is exactly what <PERSON> wants.
The mise-en-scene was perfect-- how the sound is messed with so as for the audience to only hear what <PERSON> wants them to hear, the binoculars and cameras to serve as a way of focusing on what <PERSON> wants the audience to focus on via close-ups and camera movement, the framing of each shot and how meticulous and calculated they are, which lets us know <PERSON> has us right on the palm of his hand and he knows exactly where the audience's eyes will wander. We see the movie in the eyes of <PERSON>. When a character leaves the apartment, <PERSON> can't see where they go, and neither can we. 217
<PERSON> can only see certain angles of his neighbours' apartments, and so can we. <PERSON> can only see a small vertical strip between the two buildings where the bar windows show its clients, and so can we. Everything is seen through <PERSON> lenses, and so we live this suspenseful experience alongside him, making this a stellar parallel between the audience and the main character the likes of which I had never seen before.
However, this all doesn't mean that we inherently believe everything <PERSON> believes- which shows how the director is aware that each individual member of his audience will interpret the imagery they're subjected to very differently, and he encourages that to happen as well.
Something to also take into account is how <PERSON> explores the dynamics of male-female relationships in <PERSON>' head, and how commonly people misjudge situations by a simple vignette that they catch a glimpse of. Really well executed in my opinion.
The way this film builds up such an engaging suspenseful feeling only proves how much of a filmmaking genius <PERSON> was and how knowledgeable he was of the human condition and how to translate it into a mindful murder mystery.
If you're looking to get into <PERSON>'s films, I would definitely suggest this one as a good starter! 698