Narrative and Narration in Rear Window PDF

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Exploring the relationship between 'narrative' and 'narration' in Rear Window (1954). ...

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Narrative and Narration in Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)

The narrative of a film is described as “a chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and space” (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010, p. 78). In more simple terms, a narrative is the story of the film. The narration of a film is “concerned with how an event is presented, how it happens, rather than what is presented or what happens” (Branigan, 1992, p. 65). In other words, the narration is the plot. Alfred Hitchcock’s films are known for their suspenseful narratives and compelling narrations. I will provide an analysis of the relationship between narrative and narration in his 1954 film Rear Window. In Rear Window, a photographer; L.B ‘Jeff’ Jefferies is stuck in an apartment with a courtyard view, with his leg in a cast and nothing to do except for spy on his neighbours. The film focuses on his witness of a murder and his attempts bring his neighbour to justice. “Many of Hitchcock’s films deal with the act of looking or spying, given a centrality which transcends the plot, so it can be argued that a narrative of human psychology emerges in which characters and cinema audience are involved in a play of exchange of looks” (Cook & Bernink, 1995, p. 246). This statement is true for this film because the protagonist spies on his neighbours and his act of spying is what put the chain of events into motion. Hitchcock uses the technique of getting the character to look at something, in this case, Jeff spying on his neighbours through binoculars, then cutting to a point of view shot. This builds up narrative suspense and makes it easier for the audience to relate to Jeff, as they see what he sees. The two women characters; Lisa and Stella, at first don’t agree with Jeff spying on neighbours. At one point, Jeff gives Lisa the binoculars so she can see for herself, but Hitchcock doesn’t cut to her point of view. He only uses her point of view shot once she attains Jeff’s beliefs. The fact that Hitchcock does this only adds to the suspense.

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The spectators can easily identify with Jeff. The narrative is told from his point of view and his background information reveals him to be someone worthy of rooting for. His motivation for acting on his witness of the murder comes down to the need for justice; a regular trait in the hero complex. The spectators see James Stewart acting as Jeff and automatically align to his cause and root for him to succeed. Stewart was a very popular actor at the time and always played the protagonist, so spectators expect him to be the protagonist of this film too. The film follows Todorov’s narrative formula: 1. Equilibrium – Jeff is in the apartment. He is visited by Stella and Lisa and he likes to spy on his neighbours. 2. Disequilibrium – Jeff sees suspicious activity from his neighbour and believes the neighbour committed murder. 3. Resolution/a new equilibrium – Jeff convinces his friends of the murder, they help, and together they bring his neighbour to justice. It also follows Barthe’s enigma/retardation/resolution formula. Jeff wants to bring his neighbour to justice but he is met with criticism and disbelief. The resolution comes at the end when Jeff’s life is put in danger. These formulas can be applied to many of Hollywood’s classic narratives. Hitchcock uses them as films with these narrative formulas tend to sell. Hitchcock knows how to play with suspense. The scene at night where Jeff witnesses strange behaviour from his neighbour across the courtyard, Lars Thorwald, has the ‘character looks, cuts to point of view’ technique. Every time the camera cuts to his point of view, diegetic sounds can be heard of the tenant’s actions over the sound of rain. Jeff sees Thorwald exiting his apartment and just as Thorwald crosses the road, the sound of thunder can be heard. The lack of information given to us and the steady sound of hard rain suddenly interrupted by a boom of thunder creates tension and the focus on Thorwald’s actions brings about questions

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of what he was really doing. Hitchcock uses camerawork, editing and diegetic sounds in this scene to successfully build up suspense leading up to the final act. Rear Window has a (mostly) restricted narration. It’s presented through the experiences of Jeff and the knowledge of the events are limited to only what Jeff knows and learns. The film breaks its restricted narration when the other characters are allowed their point of view to be shown because they’ve adopted Jeff’s beliefs. The scene where Jeff writes a note to Thorwald and Lisa goes to slip it under the door to his apartment has the restricted narration broken by the points of views from Lisa and Stella. The camerawork is the same here; character looks then the camera cuts to a point of view shot. There’s diegetic sounds of relaxing music coming and various street noises. The camera shot goes to a point of view as it focuses on Thorwald holding the handbag. The relaxing music abruptly cuts, leaving only the street sounds. Sounds in a scene can be used to create/build suspense. Adding a loud bang can create a moment of jolted fear, but abruptly cutting a sound knocks the pace of the scene off and leaves audiences feeling uncomfortable with anticipation of what Thorwald will do next. The black vignette around the screen blocks some of the information and the fast panning motion brings a sense of claustrophobic tension. “Narration comes into being when knowledge is unevenly distributed - when there is a disturbance or disruption in the field of knowledge” (Branigan, 1992, p. 66). The blinds are closed on the window of Thorwald’s apartment, leading to speculation. Thorwald is the only character who knows the truth, and with a restricted narration, there is an uneven distribution of knowledge. There are certain hierarchies of knowledge and the restricted narration means that in this film, the characters and the audience have the same amount of knowledge. It’s only at the end of the film where the characters and audience are finally able to solve all of the enigmas in the plot.

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The film has a subjective narration. The audience sees and hears what Jeff does and there are many point of view shots. On the other hand, the film also poses an objective narration in relation to its protagonist; Thorwald. The camerawork, sound and editing make Thorwald’s actions objective. He picks up the purse, looks in the purse, but there’s no point of view shots and no sounds to indicate that the film is on a subjective level with that character. Technically, the film breaks into an unrestricted narration but if the other characters have taken Jeff’s beliefs as their own then their point of view shots are essentially discounted and credited to Jeff. If Hitchcock gives screen time to Lisa and Stella’s point of view shots, then why doesn’t he allow them when Stella goes to slip the note under the door or when she sneaks in to Thorwald’s apartment? The camera is stuck with Jeff and the audience is left watching the events unfold through the restricted narration of Jeff. Hitchcock allows unrestricted narration to give away plot points and knowledge but resorts back to restricted narration when something suspenseful happens. It’s this restriction that leaves the audience tense and the atmosphere suspenseful. There is a general expectation that Thorwald will realise he’s being watched and will found out who is watching him, usually with a fight at the end. It’s the final battle the protagonist has to go through before the restoration of equilibrium seen in many other similar thriller films; Disturbia (D.J Caruso, 2007) and Panic Room (David Fincher, 2002). Another expectation is that Thorwald will be brought to justice in the end and a cultural expectation only limited to that time is that Lisa will change her mentality on life to suit Jeff so he will be more inclined to marry her. The spectator has been discouraged from gaining more knowledge than the characters throughout the film. Hitchcock has done this with a variety of techniques such as the point of view shots and the restricted narration. He only encourages the spectator when Lisa and

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Stella both have their point of view shots, but he quickly gains control and resorts back to restricted narration. The fact that he doesn’t allow the camera to follow Lisa into Thorwald’s room is extremely effective. It creates a suspenseful scene and the spectator is able to share the same tense feeling that Jeff feels watching the scene play out. Hitchcock expertly crafts narration to get the most tension and suspense out of the narrative.

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Bibliography

Bordwell & Thompson. (2010). Film Art: An Introduction. London: McGraw-Hill Education.

Branigan, E. (1992). Narration. In E. Branigan, Narrative Comprehension and Film (pp. 6385). London and New York: Routledge.

Cook & Bernink. (1995). The Cinema Book. London: BFI.

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