The central critical question about Rear Window is: what makes it so compelling. For the first part of the film, nothing happens. The murder only happens a quarter of the way into the film, and it is doubted for most of the duration.
The murder only happens a quarter of the way into the film, and it is doubted for most of the duration. From the opening frame, behind the credits, we can see people moving around in their apartments, the little motions of ordinary life. The apartment building contains: a newly married couple, two women who sunbathe, a dancer, a lonely middle-aged woman, a conventional family with a young child, an amateur artist, a woman who keeps birds, a song-writer, a couple who sleep on their balcony and own a dog, and a married couple who row.
The apartment building contains: a newly married couple, two women who sunbathe, a dancer, a lonely middle-aged woman, a conventional family with a young child, an amateur artist, a woman who keeps birds, a song-writer, a couple who sleep on their balcony and own a dog, and a married couple who row. Behind them all, the busy street passes by. Why is such a film compelling from the start.