AFI Rear Window Essay

Recently after breaking his left leg, photographer J.P. Jeffries was confined to his apartment. Stricken with boredom, he uses an old pair of binoculars to observe neighbors across the garden. Having a grim outlook on marriage and his future with his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont, his sights are particularly set on a married couple, whose husband, Lars Thorwald, is a salesman, and wife is sickly in bed. Jeff gets a certain amount of amusement from “spying” on these people. But soon, it’s no longer a game. Jeff notices some odd behavior in the married couple’s apartment, and shortly after the wife disappears entirely. Jeff must decide weather he thinks that the peculiar husband is a killer, of if his mind is playing games with him, and must find the strength to solve a case where no one believes the is a case to be investigated.

Jeff has a provincial look on marriage. His caretaker is convinced Lisa is the girl for him. He refuses to admit it because he’s afraid she might be right. But he couldn’t deny that he loved Lisa-she was the only one who believed him about Thorwald, and even when he wasn’t sure about what was going on, she stood by him. But she too got sucked into Jeff’s investigation and her life was almost lost because of her curiosity, but after coming close to loosing her, Jeff was sure of his feelings for her. Though at the end of the movie they don’t marry, Jeff defiantly has a better outlook on the situation.

Jeff also learns a lot about not doubting himself. He continually tells one of his colleagues about his suspicions regarding the murder of Mrs. Thorwald. He continually tells Jeff that he’s just imagining everything. His caretaker and even Lisa occasionally doubt him. But he never wavers and, though his suspicions lead to another broken leg, he was right about Mr. Thorwald. His standing firm allowed a threatening killer to be caught and that wouldn’t have happened if he’d been indecisive.

In addition to learning about self reliance, he also learned a lot depending on others. Since he had broken his leg and was left in a wheelchair, he was somewhat helpless. His caregiver was there to make sure that he didn’t do anything unwise, to make him breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and other everyday things that he was used to doing by himself. At the end, when Thorwald discovers that it was Jeff who turned him in, he went to Jess’s apartment to kill Jeff. His only defense mechanism was a camera flash, but that only lasted him so long before Thorwald pushed him out of a window. He relied on the police to catch him. He learned that he couldn’t be alone forever if he wanted to live long and happy.

Over the course of the film, Jeff learned a lot about himself and others and how to deal with others. He realized that speaking up and taking a stand was important, but relying on others was also a big deal. Over all, Jeff learned a thing of two about life and how to live it.