Marriage, of course, has its ups and downs. On one hand, finding your true love and marrying him or her seems ideal and appealing. Although one can never be truly sure if the person they love will really accept them for whom they are, or what they do, or if the person will change all together. Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window explores this idea by using over emphasized stereotypes on characters and situations in is film.
The protagonist, Jeff, has a girlfriend named Lisa. Jeff is a average guy, who lives in an average apartment, and has a trill seeking job as an photographer with odd assignments. His girlfriend on the other hand, is extravagant, well dressed, and is a high-classed, rich person. Her contrast with Jeff and his lifestyle gives Jeff an incentive not to marry her, for he fears their contrasting life styles will ruin their relationship.
One of the things Jeff observers out his rear window is a newlywed couple. At first, they seem very happy with each other, usually spending time with each other in bed. The man later on looks tired and exhausted, making the audience and Jeff assume he is fed up with spending time with his wife. By the end of the film, the couple is bickering and nagging each other, symbolizing exactly what Jeff feared. Another one of Jeff’s fears in marriage is the couple with the nagging wife. The husband seems unhappy when he arrives at the bedroom with his wife, and Jeff sees that their arguments usually end with the husband leaving the room. This scares Jeff as he fears this might happen to his marriage. Miss Lonelyhearts, is another character that Hitchcock uses to convey his idea about marriage and relationships. Her situation is dire, as she attempts to find love through imagining it, and inviting a younger man. The young man attempts to force himself upon her, and she refuses. The appalled man leaves, and Miss Lonelyhearts is devastated, perhaps thinking she may never find her true lover. Jeff fears that if he doesn’t marry Lisa, she will leave him and end up like poor Miss Lonenlyhearts.
The major plot twist in the film then makes Jeff change his perspective towards Lisa. His adventurous lifestyle as a photographer prompts him to believe that having a marriage with high-class, rich woman would lead the relationship downhill from their differences. Jeff’s ensuing discover then changes his perspective entirely, and probably in a situation he never thought could help him. A murder. Jeff discovers the couple parallel to his apartment is missing something- the wife. Jeff infers that from the nagging, the husband, Mr. Thorworld, has killed his wife out of frustration and anger. Keen on investigating, Jeff sends his maid and Lisa to gather evidence. Jeff later finds out Lisa, is just as adventurous as he is. She is brave enough to risk her life for Jeff’s investigations, and even faces a man twice her size. Jeff later realizes that they aren’t very different after all, and the couples are then seen living with each other.
Alfred Hitchcock not only uses colorful interesting characters to convey his message, but also various film and editing techniques too. The film uses a lot of Point of view shots to show the audience what Jeff is observing. The longevity of these point of view shots also shows Jeff’s interests. While looking around his apartment, Jeff spots a helicopter, and glances at it slightly. Although when he sees Ms. Torso, he eyes on her for a long time, and even smiles with content. Through the use of editing, one can infer Jeff is a bit of a pervert or has much interest in women. The use of camera angles and lighting also show the personalities of characters. When Lisa enters the room, she is happy and enthusiastic to see Jeff. Her attitude is emphasized with a high lighting key, while Jeff didn’t seem too happy and was in a low lighting key; secluded in the shadowy part of the room. In another scene, Jeff tries to persuade Doyle into further investigating Mr. Thorwald’s suspicious case. While explaining his perspective of the story, Doyle is perceived from a low angle looking up, and in a high lighting key. This shows his over confidence and know-it-all attitude towards Jeff’s seemingly absurd story. Jeff’s underlying position in the conversation is emphasized by the camera looking down on him, and being in a low lighting key. To emphasize on Jeff’s enthusiastic realization of Lisa’s adventurous spirit, the camera zooms into Jeff’s joyous face, seemingly lit up and contrasting his dark apartment.
Through the use of interesting stereotyped characters and various mise en scene and editing techniques, Hitchcock effectively conveys his idea about marriage through his film Rear Window. Even though the whole film was taken from Jeff’s apartment, the film is thrilling and interesting to watch; and also sheds some light on how people perceive marriage.
