"The Bedroom Window" is an entertaining and well paced psychological thriller that's intriguing throughout and also successful in generating moments of real tension, especially towards the latter part of the film. Made ten years before Curtis Hanson's best movie (L.A.Confidential), this offering is distinctly Hitchcockian with components such as "the wrong man theme", "the disguise motif" and similarities to "Rear Window" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The plot contains a number of interesting twists and Hanson (who also wrote the screenplay based on Anne Holden's novel "The Witnesses") directs the action with great skill and subtlety and in the process creates a rather ominous atmosphere.
Baltimore businessman Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) is having an affair with Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert) who happens to be his boss' wife. One night after a company party, they go to Terry's apartment together and sometime during the early hours of the morning, Terry goes to the bathroom and Sylvia is attracted to the window when she hears screams outside. She sees a young woman being attacked by a red haired man who runs away as soon as he realises that he's being watched.
When the couple learn that another woman has been attacked and murdered a short distance away, they want to tell the police what they saw in the hope that the culprit will be arrested. Sylvia, however, doesn't want to be directly involved because doing so would threaten her marriage and jeopardise Terry's job.
Terry decides to report what they know to the police and pretends that he'd seen the attack. After giving a statement, he attends a line-up of apparent suspects but is unable to make an accurate identification for obvious reasons. At the line-up, the victim of the attack, Denise (Elizabeth McGovern), is also unable to identify her attacker. Terry's convinced from Sylvia's description that the attacker is a man called Henderson (Brad Greenquist) who he then starts to follow and keep under surveillance.
Later, when Henderson is brought to trial, his defence attorney easily discredits Terry's testimony and because he is being prompted in court by Sylvia, it becomes clear to both Henderson and Denise that Terry didn't actually witness the attack. Henderson is acquitted and it isn't long before Terry becomes the police's new suspect. He then joins forces with Denise who believes in his innocence and together they embark on a plan to prove the guilt of the real killer.
Terry seems confident and capable in his workplace and is a good natured guy who's anxious to do the right thing. He's also incredibly naive as he underestimates the professionalism of the police and the defence attorney and repeatedly gets out of his depth and puts himself in great danger. Steve Guttenberg conveys his character's gullibility convincingly and frequently looks as if he doesn't understand the seriousness of what's happening or the level of danger to which he's exposing himself.
Sylvia is a cold character whose only concerns are to look after her own interests and Isabelle Huppert looks suitably controlled and calculating in her role. Elizabeth McGovern is particularly good in portraying Denise's amusing combination of toughness and warmth as she falls for Terry and also takes part in a very dangerous scheme to reel in the killer.
Ultimately this is an enjoyable movie with a great set up, a number of nice twists and a good deal of suspense.
Baltimore businessman Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) is having an affair with Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert) who happens to be his boss' wife. One night after a company party, they go to Terry's apartment together and sometime during the early hours of the morning, Terry goes to the bathroom and Sylvia is attracted to the window when she hears screams outside. She sees a young woman being attacked by a red haired man who runs away as soon as he realises that he's being watched.
When the couple learn that another woman has been attacked and murdered a short distance away, they want to tell the police what they saw in the hope that the culprit will be arrested. Sylvia, however, doesn't want to be directly involved because doing so would threaten her marriage and jeopardise Terry's job.
Terry decides to report what they know to the police and pretends that he'd seen the attack. After giving a statement, he attends a line-up of apparent suspects but is unable to make an accurate identification for obvious reasons. At the line-up, the victim of the attack, Denise (Elizabeth McGovern), is also unable to identify her attacker. Terry's convinced from Sylvia's description that the attacker is a man called Henderson (Brad Greenquist) who he then starts to follow and keep under surveillance.
Later, when Henderson is brought to trial, his defence attorney easily discredits Terry's testimony and because he is being prompted in court by Sylvia, it becomes clear to both Henderson and Denise that Terry didn't actually witness the attack. Henderson is acquitted and it isn't long before Terry becomes the police's new suspect. He then joins forces with Denise who believes in his innocence and together they embark on a plan to prove the guilt of the real killer.
Terry seems confident and capable in his workplace and is a good natured guy who's anxious to do the right thing. He's also incredibly naive as he underestimates the professionalism of the police and the defence attorney and repeatedly gets out of his depth and puts himself in great danger. Steve Guttenberg conveys his character's gullibility convincingly and frequently looks as if he doesn't understand the seriousness of what's happening or the level of danger to which he's exposing himself.
Sylvia is a cold character whose only concerns are to look after her own interests and Isabelle Huppert looks suitably controlled and calculating in her role. Elizabeth McGovern is particularly good in portraying Denise's amusing combination of toughness and warmth as she falls for Terry and also takes part in a very dangerous scheme to reel in the killer.
Ultimately this is an enjoyable movie with a great set up, a number of nice twists and a good deal of suspense.