'Psycho' (1960) review

Janet Leigh is the Leonardo Dicaprio of “Not Winning Awards for Great Roles”... Not including his win for The Revenant, but you know what I mean. After watching Psycho for the first time in my life, yes, I know… crazy, I took notice that Janet Leigh, who plays Marion Crane, is indeed the main character of the film. However, when I discovered that Leigh was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in her role as Crane, I could only pay attention to the “supporting” part.

Leigh’s Marion Crane should be considered the main character in the film, above Norman Bates. This is due to the fact that her character begins the film and is the sole focus on everyone’s mind. There would be no plot, if Crane did not have a relationship with a man that has debt and want to steal money from her boss to help support him. Crane carries the audience through a journey that ends in her death, but her name remains on the lips of the people that search for her.

The only other character that could be considered the main character of the film, is Norman Bates’ mother, Norma. Although Norma is not alive in the film, her son takes over her identity. Without Norma, there would be no motive or murders. Norman blames his mother for almost everything, talks about her, and even becomes her by the end of the film. Norma becomes the character that is rarely seen, yet holds so much authority over other characters. It is her, or Norman’s imitation of his mother, voice that the audience hears constantly and in the voice-over at the end of the film. The focus is either on Marion Crane or Norma Bates, which goes to show that they are the main characters.

In Psycho, everyone remembers Norman Bates and the iconic shower scene with Marion Crane. However, that scene could not be executed without the subject: Marion. What many viewers have to remember is that the film is about a woman, Marion Crane, who steals money in order to help out her boyfriend. If someone, like me, were to watch the film for the first time, they would be surprised to see that there is way more to the story than a crazy guy dressing up as his mother and killing people who stay in his motel. The story actually follows Marion and the last few days of her life and how she tries really hard to conceal her identity from a suspicious police man and support her boyfriend. The story does not end with her death, but continues when her boyfriend, sister and a private investigator attempt to find her. Even though Janet Leigh will go down in history for portraying a character that is killed off within the first thirty minutes; she will forever be the main character.

'Rear Window' review

Is it ethical for a man to watch people outside his apartment window with binoculars?

This is a question that is asked in the 1954 film Rear Window, as director, Alfred Hitchcock peeps into the lives of the people living in neighboring apartments through the eyes of a photographer, Jeff, who is restricted in a wheelchair after an accident that leaves him with a broken leg. Jeff spends his time watching his neighbors through his rear window with his large camera lens as he is confined to a wheelchair. He surveys his neighbors as they go on with their daily routines. He witnesses one of his neighbors commit some suspicious behavior regarding his wife and it leads him to believe that his neighbor might have something to do with the disappearance of his wife.

Voyeurism is a major theme in the film, however, I like to believe that it is somewhat close to “rubbernecking” as to what Jeff is doing in the film. With “voyeurism,” Jeff is enjoying the act of watching others, even if they are experiencing pain or happy, sometimes sexual feelings or activities. When Jeff watches “Miss Lonelyhearts“ she is alone, sad and later tries to commit suicide, though Jeff makes the call to the police to send help to her, he is distracted and sends the police to save his girlfriend, Lisa, instead. When watching “Miss Torso” it is constantly when she is undressing or with other men. The film makes the statement with voyeurism that, like rubbernecking, it is hard to look away from something very intriguing, whether it be dangerous, erotic, or miserable.

Rear Window is film majorly through the lens of the binoculars or Jeff’s camera to add to the voyeuristic, “Peeping Tom” vibe to the film. Everything is seen through another lense, not just Jeff’s eyes. The audience is invading someone else’s life and the film suggests that there are good and bad outcomes from this. When “people watching” one can either help or hurt someone. In this case, it worked in the favor of Jeff, who not only put a murderer away in jail, but came to his senses that he belongs with Lisa and can find true love. Although all of this ended in not one, but two broken legs, the film makes note that voyeurism might appear innocent, but there are always consequences to the actions one makes.

Rubbernecking allows the driver to see what might have caused the accident, but it only creates traffic.