Rear Window’s Single Room
The fact that the film Rear Window takes place in a single room is part of what makes it so intriguing—this has been said by many viewers, I’m sure, but their reasoning behind the statement varies. It is the aspect of connection to our main character that intrigues me in particular.
For the entirety of Rear Window, Jeff is confined to only his living space. By setting the entire film in one room, with only the rear window and other characters as ways to experience the outside world, viewers share in Jeff’s predicament and his experiences. What viewers see is what Jeff sees—this is additionally reflected in the unique camerawork when it comes to certain shots, as viewers focus in on what Jeff is looking directly at. Take, for example, when Jeff uses his binoculars: the shots while he uses his binoculars are seen through his eyes. (40:38-40:54). The binocular view is only interrupted by Jeff’s expressions, his reactions to the information he is seeing. This, too, connects us to him and his struggle to piece information together, as we likely share in his frustration, his panic, or his confusion as his facial expressions manifest. Perhaps we, as viewers, are making similar expressions to him at the time that his reactions are shown!
A similar example of the camera focusing on what Jeff sees in his confinement, and how it leads the viewers attention in a similar way to his current experience, are his interactions with other people in his home. His tense interaction with Lisa while she first visits, when they discuss his job, is full of subtle details. While he attempts to push her away from him due to his lifestyle, the camera is very stagnant—alternating between still shots of him and Lisa (27:16-29:30). This represents Jeff’s current position on the matter, a stubborn one. Lisa even asks him if either of them could ever change, and he replies, “Right now, it doesn’t seem so” (29:50-30:01). After, however, the camera begins to follow Lisa’s movement as she makes her way out (30:05-31:08)—she is making a move at this moment, simply saying “goodnight” while Jeff begins to regret his stubbornness with her. The camera moving to follow Lisa reflects his focus on her, as well as the nature of her movement away from him. Viewers suddenly become quite conscious of her movement, just as Jeff is.
Greg M. Smith’s “It’s Just A Movie” talks about the idea that “films are not telegrams”—that there is no single message to “get” about a film. I think this idea applies quite clearly to Rear Window, where there are numerous different aspects that instantly prompt the viewer to think. The one-room-choice is one of these things: if a common effect that this film choice has on viewers is bringing them closer to Jeff, is the film attempting to imply that he’s the most important protagonist to understand? My answer to that question would be “no,” while keeping Smith’s ideas in mind. That the ideas of the filmmaker and the audience are equally valid is a complex mindset, but I believe a necessary one when considering questions such as these. Personally, I believe Lisa is by far my favorite character, and I feel more sympathy for her than I do for Jeff overall. This does not mean that I don’t think Jeff is a worthy character to feel connected with throughout the film as well, because seeing the film through his eyes is compelling. It alerts us to his character growth and the events at hand in a different way than it would have looked through Lisa’s eyes, for example. Jeff’s perspective is only a single, rich, complicated perspective. My enjoyment of the movie’s suspense was enhanced by the closeness I felt to his perspective, despite his lack of relatability to me. This could vary for another viewer, who felt connected to his personality, hence why they were compelled by this closeness in perspective.