Strong and Moving!

Nice effects though.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

'The Bedroom Window' has garnered a lot of Alfred Hitchcock comparisons. It is not hard to see why, quality-wise it is not in the same league as the best of Hitchcock's (one of my all-time favourite directors, so the comparison already fascinated me like any film compared to Hitchcock does) work but in terms of atmosphere and the tone of the story the influence is definitely there.Starting with what doesn't quite work, which was actually not much, 'The Bedroom Window' after being strong for most of its duration loses its way in the final third when it tries to start resolving the many twists. Sadly it does struggle to do that with too much of the final third being contrived and implausible, feeling like what needed to be resolved either wasn't resolved enough or was done too conveniently. After the rest of the film being so promising and well done, it was sad that the most important section of the story was where the film most fell down.Will always admire anybody who tries to do something different to usual and try and shy away from their usual personas/roles. And there are plenty of examples of actors being cast against type and giving great or more performances (James Stewart in 'Vertigo' and Rosamund Pike in 'Gone Girl' being two notable examples). Best known for the 'Police Academy' series, Steve Guttenberg takes on a career that couldn't be more different from his typical image. Sadly count me in as somebody who (although he gives it a decent bash) who found it didn't quite pay off, for the type of film Guttenberg just seemed too laid back and that he didn't seem comfortable toning things down.However, 'The Bedroom Window' is very well made visually with a darkly slick look. The haunting but never overbearing music score is a good fit and gives the film and atmosphere good character. Hanson's direction is efficient, failing only in losing control of the twists in the final third, everywhere else he did very well.The script is taut and intriguing and for much of the film the story was paced tightly. It's always compelling and entertaining with very nice, nail-biting at its best, suspense.Guttenberg aside, the performances are fine. Particularly from a charming Elizabeth McGovern and a chilling Brad Greenquist. Isabelle Huppert is suitably calculating, and there are fine, if somewhat underused, turns from Wallace Shawn and Paul Shenar (who would have on a side note made for a better lead, although he typically played villains he had the intensity).Overall, good film and almost a great one until going off the boil in the last third. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) is having an affair with his boss Collin Wentworth' wife Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert). A serial killer is hunting Baltimore. After a tryst at Terry's apartment, Sylvia alone witnesses an attack outside his bedroom window. Denise (Elizabeth McGovern) survives. Later, Terry decides to call the police with a description from Sylvia pretending as the witness. The police sets up a lineup with suspect Carl Henderson. Of course, he can't help them but he starts following Henderson. Another girl is killed but there is not enough evidence. The prosecutor decides to put on Denise's assault case with Terry as the only eye witness. The trial goes badly and Terry becomes the main suspect.This has a bit of Hitchcock and De Palma. I really like the story. Guttenberg is the main problem. His character is already too clueless and too Polyannish. His comedic smirk gets into the way. I can imagine many other actors would be better in a psychological thriller. He is a hard character to root for. He is either a romantic fool or an idiot. McGovern is great, Huppert is solid and the villain is creepy. This needs a different leading man. He needs to be more innocent while Sylvia manipulates him. Also I'm not sure how the final scheme is suppose to work. She gets a disguise but then he should know who she is anyways. It has to work precisely or else she's alone with the killer. The whole plan seems dubious to me. I love the bedroom window setup. The rest is a mixture of good and not so good.

"The Bedroom Window" is an entertaining and well paced psychological thriller that's intriguing throughout and also successful in generating moments of real tension, especially towards the latter part of the film. Made ten years before Curtis Hanson's best movie (L.A.Confidential), this offering is distinctly Hitchcockian with components such as "the wrong man theme", "the disguise motif" and similarities to "Rear Window" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The plot contains a number of interesting twists and Hanson (who also wrote the screenplay based on Anne Holden's novel "The Witnesses") directs the action with great skill and subtlety and in the process creates a rather ominous atmosphere.Baltimore businessman Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) is having an affair with Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert) who happens to be his boss' wife. One night after a company party, they go to Terry's apartment together and sometime during the early hours of the morning, Terry goes to the bathroom and Sylvia is attracted to the window when she hears screams outside. She sees a young woman being attacked by a red haired man who runs away as soon as he realises that he's being watched.When the couple learn that another woman has been attacked and murdered a short distance away, they want to tell the police what they saw in the hope that the culprit will be arrested. Sylvia, however, doesn't want to be directly involved because doing so would threaten her marriage and jeopardise Terry's job.Terry decides to report what they know to the police and pretends that he'd seen the attack. After giving a statement, he attends a line-up of apparent suspects but is unable to make an accurate identification for obvious reasons. At the line-up, the victim of the attack, Denise (Elizabeth McGovern), is also unable to identify her attacker. Terry's convinced from Sylvia's description that the attacker is a man called Henderson (Brad Greenquist) who he then starts to follow and keep under surveillance.Later, when Henderson is brought to trial, his defence attorney easily discredits Terry's testimony and because he is being prompted in court by Sylvia, it becomes clear to both Henderson and Denise that Terry didn't actually witness the attack. Henderson is acquitted and it isn't long before Terry becomes the police's new suspect. He then joins forces with Denise who believes in his innocence and together they embark on a plan to prove the guilt of the real killer.Terry seems confident and capable in his workplace and is a good natured guy who's anxious to do the right thing. He's also incredibly naive as he underestimates the professionalism of the police and the defence attorney and repeatedly gets out of his depth and puts himself in great danger. Steve Guttenberg conveys his character's gullibility convincingly and frequently looks as if he doesn't understand the seriousness of what's happening or the level of danger to which he's exposing himself.Sylvia is a cold character whose only concerns are to look after her own interests and Isabelle Huppert looks suitably controlled and calculating in her role. Elizabeth McGovern is particularly good in portraying Denise's amusing combination of toughness and warmth as she falls for Terry and also takes part in a very dangerous scheme to reel in the killer.Ultimately this is an enjoyable movie with a great set up, a number of nice twists and a good deal of suspense.

Besides being a spiritual mentor to almost every fledgling writer director, Alfred Hitchcock must be the most plagiarized filmmaker in history (at least prior to Scorsese, and then Tarantino). But this latest (to date) in a long line of unmistakable tributes to (rip-offs from?) the Master of Suspense is a capable thriller in its own right, concentrating on a tricky scenario instead of merely dishing out cheap copy-cat effects (step forward, Brian de Palma). The story is contrived, but never more than any Hitchcock plot ever was; it's implausible, but not enough to be insulting; and it features one of the more colorless heroes (Steve Guttenberg) in recent memory, but with good reason. To keep his affair with the boss' wife a secret, Guttenberg testifies in her place after she witnesses a brutal assault from his bedroom window. The deceit puts them both in mortal danger, and eventually makes him the prime suspect in a multiple murder case, so of course the only way to prove his innocence is by catching the true killer, literally red-handed. Coincidence plays a major role in the manhunt, but (thankfully) so does ingenuity and surprise.