Movie Details
| Title: | The Bedroom Window | |
| Director: | Curtis Hanson | |
| Year: | 1987 | |
| Genre: | Thriller | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 01.02.23 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (5)
- In Her Shoes
- L.A. Confidential
- Lucky You
- Too Big to Fail
- Wonder Boys
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 01.02.23 | Internet | Tonight's double feature is a couple thrillers. This one was mentioned by QT on Fallen when Jimmy asked for a recommendation. It fit well into another element to this cache of movies that I've amassed and am attempting to get through in that I THINK I saw this when it came out either as a rental or a random night on cable, so I wanted to watch it just to make sure. The late 80s was awash in thrillers, both erotic and otherwise. To be honest, I have a memory of Steve Gutenberg seeing a crime through his bedroom window but it may be confused with Jagged Edge or Morning After or Kiss of the Spider Woman or A Room with a View. I haven't seen all those movies but they're all lumped together in my brain for some reason so I wasn't sure that this was the movie in my head at first. It took about an hour until a courtroom scene where I was sure I had seen it before. In any case, the conceit is pretty good. A woman sees a crime being committed and gets a look at the assailant who winds up being a killer. The problem is that the woman is having an affair and was at her lover's apartment. She can't go to the police, so the lover decides to report on her behalf. It's a nice set-up, I also liked seeing Baltimore a good dozen years before The Wire. I actually think the killer in this movie lives in Nicky Sobotka's parents house. Hanson shoots all over town even shooting a scene in the aquarium. As for the bad, there are a couple things keeping this from being more memorable. Gutenberg's performance is probably at the top of the list. For the first half of the film he's alright since he's supposed to be playing a bit of an idiot anyway, but when the tension ratchets up and he's supposed to be on edge and desperate, I just don't believe it at all. A couple scenes I actually think he's really good, like when he asks the cops if he's a suspect, but by the end it's too much for him. It's a shame really because Curtis Hanson's adaptation and direction are pretty smart, well... mostly. Also, the music and photography are pretty standard 80s fare. I have a spoiler I want to talk about so let me wrap up by saying I liked this pretty well. I'm glad to connect one of these random movie memories floating around from childhood to a title and imdb listing. Like QT said, it's a solid thriller. SPOILER ALERT ok, the courtroom scene mentioned about is when the defense attorney wins his case by telling Gutenberg to remove his contact lenses. This is such a thing! I guess in 1987 contact lenses were exotic enough to be a total gotcha on the audience but it really seems dumb to me today. Dumb of Gutenberg to not think of the thing he has to do every night and every morning when he comes up with his cover story. It feels like a plot hole to me as a contact lens wearer. |
