I’ve been finding that the works of Hitchcock are really hit or miss with me. In my last auteur director course on Woody Allen, I liked the majority of the films. This class not so much.
That being said, I loved this movie. I think it’s a perfect example of what Hitchcock is all about. I really see him hitting his stride as a filmmaker in the 1950s. Jimmy Stewart is an excellent leading man. Grace Kelly is phenominal. The whole set is an acheivement, and the fact that all but a handful of shots originate in the Stewart character’s apartment really makes the film claustrophobic.
For a movie in which nothing really happens till the last 10 minutes, I was engrossed in the universe almost immediately. We were told that in the book that the film was based on, they did not go into the lives of the other neighbors (Miss Lonely Hearts, Miss Torso, et al) nor was there a love story. Without them I think the movie would have grown stagnant very quickly. The chemistry between Stewart and Kelly was incredible. I am always amazed at the sexuality in films from the 1950s. It’s understated but very, very believable.
I think this is one of the best movies that I’ve seen in that class all year.
