8. Rear Window (1954)
Arguably the most perfect example of 'Hitchcockian' film,
Rear Window involves a photographer, Jeff (full name L.B. Jeffries, played by James Stewart), forced into immobility after he breaks his leg and witnesses a murder. Aside from a brilliant supporting cast including Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey and Grace Kelly as his romantic interest. The mixed morality comes in several ways during the film - the main point is whether or not we should be behind Jeffries as our protagonist; in his relationship with Kelly's Lisa, he simultaneously disparages her independence and career as a fashion columnist and socialite whilst mocking her attempts to connect with him on a deeper psychological and emotional level. This is indicative of the sexism that seems to run through a lot of Hitchcock's work - men and women are seen to be different entities entirely and often women are seen as irrational. Jeffries also becomes fixated and limited, constricted to the views out of his window - he effectively ruins a man's life in his attempt to solve a mystery and ironically engages in the illegal behaviours he's so opposed to (he asks his police sergeant friend to break into the murderer's apartment, gets Lisa to do the same and sends a threatening blackmail phone call to the murderer). That doesn't necessarily make him a hero - the murderer had had a negative, overbearing relationship with his wife before killing her, and was escaping to a new life with the woman he truly loved. We're not justifying his actions but the man is not a psychopath, more a desperate man who has his chance at happiness ruined by Jeffries. It's not that
Rear Window is a bad film by any means - it's one of this reviewer's favourites and technically it's a hallmark. It's just such a shame that we're given a protagonist who is technically likeable but at the same time such a prickly, obsessive hero that even Grace Kelly is tempted to walk away from at one point.