Room With A View

L.B. Jefferies, confined to his apartment by a sheath of plaster, sits at his window and watches the people in the surrounding apartments. He watches the daily activities of these people, unbeknownst to them, and even comes up with endearing nicknames for them like "Miss Lonelyhearts" and "Miss Torso." Jeffries has been watching these people in their apartments for seven straight weeks and has developed an addiction of watching them. He eventually ends up sleeping periodically at his window with his binoculars.

The complex is almost laid out like Jeffries's subconscious. Miss Torso represents Lisa, beautiful, elegant, and always attractive to other men, "juggling wolves" at social gatherings. Jeff watches her and casually remarks on her, not in a jealous way or a contrasting way but in a dazzled way, like he's amazed by her poise, beauty, and social grace. It may be too intimidating to marvel at Lisa in that way up close because he values her so highly to the point where he is undermined and therefore feels inadequate as a man deserving of her attention and love. He uses Miss Torso as a scapegoat for all his adoration for Lisa.

The presence of the newlyweds serves as comic relief and as a foreshadowing of Jeffries's future if he gives into the pressures of marriage. They arrive in their new apartment, excited and naive, and five minutes later close the window and the door. Periodically, the new husband opens the window to a brief moment of solitude only to have it interrupted by his wife calling him back every time like clockwork. Jeffries laughs at this to himself in schadenfreude and views it as an example and an excuse to not marry Lisa, ignoring the fact that their marriage may not turn out that way.

Jeffries pities Miss Lonelyhearts as she plays pretend in her small apartment all alone. He registers how unhappy she is being totally alone and I think watching her morale diminish makes him grateful for Lisa and how she makes his life better and less empty. Through his expressions towards Miss Lonelyhearts we see his compassion towards her and his desire to help her, almost paralleling how he would help himself if he were suddenly left alone.

Rear Window is a murder mystery but it really is about this man being alone with his thoughts and worries essentially. It's more of a pseudo psychological thriller in that regard. We see the relationship of the two characters rebuild itself and manifest itself in different scenarios with different people. Sure the murder gets solved and Thorwald is hauled away in shackles; the audience wants to know what happens to Jeffries and Lisa- they're the main characters for a reason. If the murder was the main idea of the film, it would have been the catalyst for the plot, not some guy in his apartment half-clad in a cast.