Thematic Function of Style in Alfred Hitchcocks Rear Window - Essay Example

?Thematic Function of Style in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window Central Theme Alfred Hitchcock’s film the Rear Window is a creative master-piece. The central theme of the paper is to identify the elements of voyeurism in the film and to determine the favorable consequences of such behavior in Hitchcock’s Rear Window. The concept presents itself at various levels throughout the film. The paper evaluates how Jeffries gets stimulated by observing the intimate lives of his neighbors and eventually becomes engrossed in a murder mystery. His voyeurism makes a positive contribution by bringing the killer to justice and brining Jeffries at harmony with his life. Important Patterns the Plot On the surface the plot of the film seems rather simple: just a single set and a handful of characters, but upon close observation we realize that just by means of editing Alfred Hitchcock puts life in the plot, makes it suspenseful and attention-grabbing. Fawell (5) in his books suggests that Hitchcock believed that everyone was involved in something physical and nasty behind closed doors”. This belief can be assumed as a basis for creating Rear Window, where Hitchcock portrays the concept of voyeurism trough the central character of his film. But he applies the voyeurism concept in a positive manner by projecting parallel concepts of human loneliness and need for empathy. The opening scene shows a broken camera with a picture of an airplane taken at very close range. The protagonist, Jeffries is seated in a chair with his foot in a cast. In order to kill his boredom, Jeffries develops the habit of observing his neighbors through his rear window. He allocates nicknames to these people and observes their intimate lives through an impersonal distance. There are significant elements of voyeurism in his observations as he watches the ballerina dancing seductively in her underwear, a couple which sleeps on the balcony, a newly-married couple engaged in an intimate embrace that keeps pulling down the blinds, a pianist who is trying to woo women with his music, a spinster who is looking for love in the oddest of ways and an unhappy salesman who is frequently quarrelling with his wife. Hitchcock uses the technique “point-of-view” which enables the viewer to look at the entire film through Jeffries’s perspective. Through Rear Window Hitchcock uses voyeurism that results in a positive outcome as Jeffries through is odd interest in neighbors solves a murder mystery, saves his own life and salvages his relationship with Lisa. Towards the beginning of the film, Jeffries’s nurse Stella says “we’ve become a nation of peeping toms”, this is the central theme around which the plot of the film revolves. According to Fawell, Hitchcock blows up the single set from the window into a view of thirty-one city apartments that appear to be like an elaborate doll-house (4). The very concept of using an apartment building instead of neighboring houses contributes immensely to voyeurism. This is so because in case of a house with a rear window the other visible window could be of one neighboring house, which would have to be the killer’s then there would not be any significance of other characters. The very concept of voyeurism stands out when Jeffries observes the intimate lives of various characters residing in apartments of the opposite building, not just the killer’s. Hence although the protagonist in the film is firmly seated in one place, we are able to see multiple views through his eyes—or the eyes of the camera. This Hitchcock has executed to perfection with close-up shots, tracking shots and film montages. For example when Jeffries is talking on the phone to the magazine editor he is looking outside into each of the windows where each neighbor is engaged in an activity. The ballerina is dancing provocatively while she is preparing a sandwich, the artist is preparing a beverage and the pianist is composing on his piano all the while Jefferies is talking on the phone and peeking into windows. The montage and scene hopping is phenomenal in this scene as if that is how naturally eyes would move if the audience were actually a person in the scene. Voyeurism is depicted in this scene when Jeffries’s character starts to fulfill his need of gossip and indulgences in other people’s intimate lives until he discovers that one of them has a dark secret. Stella point out in the scene where she is massaging him and says “you eyes are all bloodshot from watching them twenty-four hours. What are you going to do if one of them catches you?” Thematic Elements and their Contribution to the Plot In terms of cinematography, consider the scene where Lisa and Jefferies are kissing but he is too preoccupied with the salesman’s missing wife and suspicious behavior. Lisa becomes furious with his obsession of neighbors and even says “you have started to scare me”. Jeffries tries to explain his observations about the salesman while he looks at him moving around his apartment. The camera suddenly shows a clip of the ballerina lying on her stomach on the bed, another jump scene, which implies that Jeffries mind was not solely focused solely on the salesman but indulging in voyeurism at the same time. Eventually the scene wraps up when the camera shows a mid-range shot of the salesman handling a rather large package, following this scene Lisa becomes equally involved in this game of “peeping toms”. It is noticeable that the music in the background is that of a piano being stuck softly, indicating that the pianist is practicing in his apartment. By selective lighting the audience’s eye can be guided to elements in the scene that are essential to the plot (Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson 228). For instance in the same scene when there is a shot of Jeffries looking outside through his binoculars, the frame shows the outline of the binoculars as it would appear trough Jeffries’s eyes. The dark outline in the frame lays even more emphasis on what is happening in the brighter part of the image, which is the salesman’s apartment view. The use of binoculars for looking into neighbors’ houses also implies actions of voyeurism because the user clearly wants to study the intimate details of the subject. And Jeffries uses them for spying at other people too not only at the murder suspect. Film Style Editing in Rear Window According to Dancyger, the elements of style used in editing which is most impactful on an audience include camera placement, movement, set background and placement of other objects in the scene, lighting and editing (203). Since a film is a visual art form it is very important to understand the style of the film, pretty much like understanding the language of a book to completely in order to appreciate it (Caldwell 7). The mise-en-scene incorporate the following elements, the costumes, lighting, setting and the acting style (Caldwell 7). The first time the character of Jeffery is introduced in the scene, the camera takes a close-up of his leg which is in a cast. This is a very important shot which signifies that the main character of the film is actually incapable of walking around. Before Lisa, his girlfriend makes an entrance in the movie Jeffery uses the term “too-perfect” for her, which signify the costumes she wears and the way Grace Kelly carries herself. Lisa’s costumes are immaculate and expensive looking and Jeffries frequently makes references to her living in the better-off part of the city. But in spite of her beauty and perfection, Jeffries does not want to marry her and engages in voyeurism by seeking visual pleasure by observing his neighbors. Jeffries on the other hand appears to be a struggling photographer, who is dressed casually and lives in an ordinary neighborhood. However, that is how the state of things appears at first but Hitchcock proves otherwise—the neighborhood is anything but ordinary. The lighting too is very impactful, each window acts as a frame too where a scene is depicted and each window is lit well and the window frame is in dim light to lay emphasis on the scene inside the window. The music too in most scenes is in the background which pertains to other characters in the film someway in the form of various sounds coming from different apartments at different times of the day. For example at night when Lisa goes to deliver the letter to the Villain’s house, the music in the background is that of piano playing which is perhaps the pianist practicing. This implication of beautiful music in spite of a very suspense-filled scene implies that external elements from the neighborhood continue to impact the way Jeffries perceives the tense situation from his window. Furthermore, we also observe that Jeffries is whispering to Lisa as if she can hear him or that if he speaks loudly the villain might hear him. Although he is several feet away and there is no need to whisper, Jeffries feels so intimately connected to the scene before him he feels the need to whisper as if he himself is there. His intimate involvement in a scene he is not even a part of, show signs of voyeurism. A successful application of mise-en-scene is the scene where Lisa is modeling in her new lingerie; she is stopped short at the sound of a scream. Party music continues to play in pianist’s apartment where they are having a party and then everyone rushes to the window to see what happened. Most people dressed in sleepwear look out the window. It was the scream of the lady from the couple that slept in the balcony, when she spots her dead dog. Every morning she would lower her dog in a basket so he could run around and pull him back up at night. That night when she tries to lower the basket to bring the dog up, she notices him lying flat on the ground unmoving. The spinster from downstairs inspects the dog and declares that he has been strangled. The lady in the balcony starts wailing and shouts at the spectators “you don’t know the meaning of the word neighbor… they care if somebody lives or dies, but none of you do.” And the spectators prove her right when everyone finds out the reason for the commotion they shrug it off and get back to their activities. There is a long shot of just one window which has its lights out, the villain is the only person who lived there and did not come out. The words uttered by the anguished woman had dual meanings because Jefferies proved her wrong—as he was a neighbor who did care! Furthermore in terms of cinematography is view of the darkened open window is very impactful as if it has a mystery concealed. In terms of central theme, from this point forward Hitchcock shows a very different perspective towards voyeurism. The director depicts the human loneliness and need for empathy as the lady in the balcony tries to gain her spectator’s sympathy by reminding them that they were her neighbors, they should care what goes on in her life. And the protagonist, through voyeurism in an odd way actually cared about his neighbors. Another editing technique that Hitchcock has effectively used is jump-cutting, by joining two noncontiguous shots and putting the together to create suspense. The purpose of jump cutting is to challenge the concept of continuity, to deliberately create the feeling of suspense by showing that something is missing. For example when Lisa is stuck in the villain’s apartment and he comes there unexpectedly. For a few frames Lisa is displaced as the villain enters the bedroom and inspects his wife’s purse lying outside, raising his suspicions that someone had been there. The camera shows Lisa going somewhere between the walls of the two windows not showing where she is hiding or what she is doing. Even at this point in time Jeffries is whispering to her “get out of there” as if she can hear him. However when the police arrive o arrest her for trespassing, she turns her back and points her finger at the salesman’s wife’s ring. The salesman observes her doing this and looks straight ahead at Jeffries apartment. For the fear of being discovered Jeffries instructs Stella to turn off the lights. This scene too contributes to the central theme because the protagonist’s fear of being discovered indulging in the guilty pleasure of voyeurism. The last scene of the film shows a montage similar to the one at the start of the film which depicts the ordinary lives of people, pianist showing his music to a female spectator, the salesman’s house getting repainted, the ballerina dancing and entertaining a man, the unconventional artist sleeping in the yard and lastly Jeffries with two casts instead of one sleeping with a satisfied grin on his face and Lisa by his side. The last scene contributes to the central theme of the film showing that after being hauled off the roof by the villain and getting both his legs broken and solving a mystery Jeffries finally found peace. The voyeurism in him finally comes to a rest, because people are still engaged in intimate activities of their own behind closed door but now he is no longer a “peeping tom” instead he has found an intimate relationship of his own that brings him pleasure so he doesn’t need to feel it through other people. Conclusion Rear Window sheds light on the subject of voyeurism by linking it with human curiosity, loneliness and hunger for empathy. Hitchcock’s brings to life this concept by using point-of-view camera technique which enables the audience to look at the scene through Jeffries’s eyes. Jeffries becomes obsessed with visually stimulating himself by looking at the lives of his neighbors. Yet there are elements of sadness in the movie where these neighbors are seeking love, attention and interest from someone. The voyeurism of Jeffries eventually leads for him to stumble upon a murder mystery. Upon solving the mystery, the curious soul in him is satiated and he becomes content with his life. Thus through Rear Window, Hitchcock sheds light on the positive consequences of human curiosity and the human need for intimacy. Works Cited Bordwell, David. Staiger, Janet and Thompson, Kristin. The classical Hollywood cinema: Film style & mode of production to 1960. Columbia University Press. 1985. 226. Print Caldwell, Thomas . Mise-en-scene .The Film Analysis Handbook. Insight Publications. 2011. Print Dancyger.K. Narrative and Style, Chapter 14. The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice. Elsevier, Burlington. Fifth Edition. 203 Print Fawell, John .Hitchcock's Rear Window: The Well-Made Film, Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition. 2004. Print Hitchcock, Alfred Director. Rear Window. Universal Studios. 1954. Film Renzi, Thomas C. Rear Window. Cornell Woolrich: from pulp noir to film noir. McFarland. 2006. Book Read More