MORAL OF THE MOVIE

Love thy neighbor? The moral of the movie can be derived from the saying “if you see something, say something”. However, the film complicates the notion when it adds context to how you saw that particular something. If you saw something you were not meant to see but you did so in the invasion of someone’s privacy, is it still ethical to report it? The ethics of this conundrum are brought to question by the film’s premise and, in my opinion, the answer being promoted is “yes, if you see something, then you must say something.”

WHO I THINK WOULD MOST ENJOY THIS MOVIE

Fans of the slow-burn type of thriller will be mesmerized by this film, but I think this is a movie that will certainly appeal to those that are interested in finding intrigue in the mundane.

ADDITIONAL NOTES/COMMENTARY

I didn’t realize the effect that this film was having on me until I reached its climax and my heartbeat was pounding so hard that I could feel it in my chest. That’s how the slow burn of Rear Window works in drawing the viewer into its world until, all of a sudden, you feel completely immersed and implicated by whatever is happening in the movie. The fact that I cared for these characters’ fates was a success in its own. I was kept engaged by how Hitchcock doesn’t hand it all to the viewer in a silver platter. Rather, he gives you little bits of taste after taste of what is happening until you’re suddenly full and understand everything that’s happened and why. Hitchcock was truly a master of suspense and this film is another testament to the legacy of the Master of Suspense. Additionally, the movie touches on the ethics of snooping and invading others’ privacy that should come along with its premise of surveillance. The fact that a 61 year-old film can be so relevant in contemporary discussions of surveillance goes to show how timeless this classic is and how we can learn from films in history.