The Bedroom Window (1987) Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.0 stars
Cast: Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, Isabelle Huppert, Paul Shenar, Carl Lumbly, Wallace Shawn, Frederick Coffin, Brad Greenquist, Robert Schenkkan, Maury Chaykin Written and Directed by: Curtis Hanson Running Time: 113 minutes
Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) wrote and directed this effective Hitchcockian thriller. Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert) witnesses a vicious attempted murder from the bedroom window of her lover Terry (Steve Guttenberg). When Terry learns that the attacker murdered someone minutes later, he knows Sylvia must come forward with what she saw. However if she testifies, their secret affair will be out. So Terry decides to go to the police in her place, relating the details of what she saw as she described them to him.
When Terry goes to court for the matter, the defense attorney (a suitably slimy Wallace Shawn) tears his testimony to shreds. The police, now realizing that they've been lied to, want to know how Terry could possibly know since intricate details of the case. Terry then becomes the lead suspect in the case, with no way out in sight.
Guttenberg is miscast as the lead here, as he can't quite shake his Carey Mahoney / Police Academy mindset. He plays his role with a constant smirk on his face, seemingly never taking the matters at hand seriously. He's not bad here mind you, but he's just not completely conveying the emotions of someone in the situation his character is in. Also miscast is Elizabeth McGovern who plays the girl that was attacked. At one point late in the film McGovern is supposed to convey sexyness, but well... she just... can't. McGovern just has that "innocent farm girl who's been protected from all the evils in the world" look to her, and sexy just doesn't work for her. Not on this level anyway.
I give director Hanson and his crew a lot of credit for not only the sheer entertainment value of the film, but also for how the film looks. The story takes place in Baltimore, but Hanson was able to use locations there that make the city seem foreign, as if the story was happening in Italy or Spain. I've visited Baltimore before and thought it just looked like a nice metro American city. Hanson was able to show me otherwise, and that look adds to the intrigue of the story. [Note: I do have to deduct some of those technical kudos however, as in one scene where Guttenberg is driving somewhere you can clearly see a crew member in red wandering around behind the car. Inexcusable.]
While there are some suspenseful moments in the film, what gave me the chills as I was watching The Bedroom Window was noting that the two people I'm watching (Guttenberg and McGovern) have vanished off the face of the Earth. Now THAT'S scary.
The Bedroom Window is available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. The disc contains the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions), and includes the original theatrical trailer.
The trailer for this film is interesting to see (as is the DVD insert, which is a reproduction of the original poster and box art), because the ad campaign for this film actually says "In the tradition of the master of suspense". This wasn't a quote from a critic, this is what the PR company decided would be the best way to advertise the film. While I have no real problem with this... shouldn't Alfred Hitchcock's name have been mentioned? The general public going to see this film at the time wouldn't have had any idea who the "master of suspense" is.
Featuring a good transfer for a little film from over 13 years ago, Anchor Bay gets a big hand for continually restoring and releasing the smaller films out there that might have otherwise been forgotten. If you like suspense thrillers, then this is a good disc to add to your library. [R]
Reviewed by Chuck Dowling - chuckd21@fdn.com AOL Instant Messenger: FilmJax The Jacksonville Film Journal - http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/
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