The Bedroom Window (1987 film)

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The Bedroom Window
Bedroomwindowposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Curtis Hanson
Screenplay byCurtis Hanson
Based onThe Witnesses
by Anne Holden
Produced by Martha Schumacher
Starring
Cinematography Gilbert Taylor
Edited byScott Conrad
Music by Michael Shrieve
Patrick Gleeson
Distributed by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (USA)
Release date
  • January 16, 1987 (1987-01-16)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8.3 million
Box office$12.6 million

The Bedroom Window is a 1987 American neo-noir [1] psychological thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson. It stars Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern and Isabelle Huppert, and was shot in Baltimore in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Based on the novel The Witnesses by Anne Holden, it tells the story of a young executive who starts an affair with the wife of his boss which then escalates into nightmare after he lies to the police in order to protect her. The film received generally positive critic reviews and was a modest box office success. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Contents

Plot

Terry asks his boss's wife Sylvia to his apartment after an office party and the two go to bed. Later, while he is in the bathroom, she hears screams outside and goes naked to the window. Seeing a man attacking a young woman, she opens the window and the assailant runs away. When the media report the murder of a young woman near Terry's flat that night, he thinks the police should know what Sylvia saw but, to protect her, claims that it was he who was at the bedroom window.

At a police lineup, neither he nor the victim Denise is able to pick out the attacker, Chris. Despite the feeble evidence against him, Chris is put on trial for the assault and during the proceedings his lawyer proves that since Terry is short-sighted, and was supposed to be asleep - and therefore not wearing his contact lenses - when the attack occurred, that he could not have witnessed the incident. Chris goes free, leaving not only the police and the prosecution but also Denise and Sylvia aghast at Terry's ineptness.

In the courtroom, Chris recognises Sylvia as the woman at the window. Desperate to warn her, Terry finds her at a ballet performance and tells her she must go to the police, but she refuses all further involvement. As he leaves, he sees Chris's distinctive truck parked outside and rushes in again. He is too late, however, for in the dark she has been stabbed fatally and dies in Terry's arms.

He takes refuge with Denise, who first seduces him and then offers him a chance to redeem himself. She wants revenge, and with him devises a plot to provoke Chris into another attack. Disguising herself, she goes to a bar where Chris is drinking and signals her availability. Terry follows her as she leaves to go home and, when Chris attacks, the two are able to repel him. He escapes, only to be caught by the police who Terry forewarned.

Cast

Production

Development

Curtis Hanson read the novel The Witnesses by Anne Holden and tried to get the film rights. They had been bought by Paramount who had them for 15 years. Hanson did a deal with the studio to write the script. His adaptation added the character of Denise, the assaulted waitress. [9]

Casting

Hanson says Elizabeth McGovern was his "only choice" to play Denise. "Robert De Niro was obsessed with McGovern in Once Upon a Time in America. Dudley Moore was obsessed with her in Lovesick. So it's fun to have her play a part where her beauty is secondary. At a certain point she takes over the plot. She's the victim who becomes the aggressor." [9]

In the script Sylvia was American but Hanson decided to cast Isabelle Huppert. "She gives the movie a little extra something," said Hanson. "Being French, she has a veneer of sophistication. She's glamorous and belongs to a world that he aspires to. Isabelle also added a contrast with Elizabeth, to whom Steve's character was initially unattracted." [9]

Hanson says Steve Guttenberg was not his first choice for the lead of Terry but rather a suggestion of Dino De Laurentiis. "Dino thought that if the movie wasn't successful, at least he'd have a young person in the lead who is liked and is known for comedy," said Hanson. [9]

Guttenberg was very enthusiastic to do the film and Hanson agreed to cast him after they had dinner together. "I thought the picture should have his enthusiasm and his humor," Hanson said. "Steve was dying to play the part. It was something different for him. He perceived his character as more of a leading man than a comedian." [9]

Filming

The film was shot in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland and at DeLaurentiis' DEG studios in Wilmington, North Carolina. [9]

Music

The music for the film was composed by Michael Shrieve and Patrick Gleeson, and released as the official soundtrack album on LP in 1986. [11]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 72% of 32 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.The website's consensus reads: "A likable cast and mostly solid story help The Bedroom Window transcend hollow Hitchcock pastiche." [12] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [13]

The film was met with negative feedback by Vincent Canby in The New York Times . [4] It subsequently received mixed to mildly positive reviews from other film critics. James Berardinelli gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and called it "a promising thriller [gone] badly wrong". [14] Jack Sommersby recommended it as "a first-rate thriller that only occasionally missteps", but reflected negatively on its story. [15] Derek Armstrong described it as "a diligent, suspenseful thriller" with "a tense, focused story", pointing out, however, the inferiority of the third act to the rest of the film as well as loose plot threads. [16]

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Bedroom Window grossed $12.6 million at the box office, [8] against a budget of $8.3 million. [9] [10] It spent its first three weeks in the Top 10 at the box office. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ Silver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth; Ursini, James; Porfirio, Robert (2010). Film Noir: The Encyclopaedia. Overlook Duckworth (New York). ISBN   978-1-59020-144-2.
  2. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes critic reviews" . Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Meta Critic critic reviews" . Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Canby, Vincent (16 January 1987). "Bedroom Window: A Thriller" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 7 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Berardinelli, James (2001). "Review: The Bedroom Window". reelviews.net. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  6. ↑ Sommersby, Jack (2002-12-27). "Movie Review - Bedroom Window, The". efilmcritic.com. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  7. ↑ Armstrong, Derek. "The Bedroom Window (1987) - Curtis Hanson". AllMovie . www.allmovie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Bedroom Window". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved 2024-03-11. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Russell, Candice (March 8, 1987). "Bedroom Window' Director Inspired by Novel, Hitchcock". Sun Sentinel .
  10. 1 2 Knoedelseder, William K Jr. (1987-08-30). "De Laurentiis: Producer's Picture Darkens" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  11. ↑ "Michael Shrieve & Patrick Gleeson - The Bedroom Window (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs . 1986. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  12. ↑ "The Bedroom Window". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 2024-03-11. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  13. ↑ "The Bedroom Window". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  14. ↑ Berardinelli, James (2001). "Review: The Bedroom Window". reelviews.net. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  15. ↑ Sommersby, Jack (2002-12-27). "Movie Review - Bedroom Window, The". efilmcritic.com. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  16. ↑ Armstrong, Derek. "The Bedroom Window (1987) - Curtis Hanson". AllMovie . www.allmovie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
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