Slightly off topic, but what would Rear Window be without Jimmy Stewart's cast and wheelchair? Not only does his injury set the entire plot in motion -- he would never otherwise spend hours observing his neighbors, or if he did he'd just be a creep -- but his helplessness gives Grace Kelly the opportunity to prove her own courage in a way that she would be unable to do if he were not disabled. He is already in love with her, but her willingness to put herself in danger earns his respect and admiration, which is why he decides to marry her.
I love this! I think it also puts him in a complicated situation with her: does he want her to care for him and pity him or does he want her to partner with him? Such a good movie.
Sometimes it can be poetic / thematic. Shown beautifully in the Assassination of Jesse James… we’re first shown/told about Jesse’s middle finger missing a digit by the narrator when he’s running his hand across wheat in a field. There’s a ton of theme and foreshadowing in that, loss of control, identity, humanity, less than a full F-U. Functionally, Jesse’s missing digit never had any impact on his death. Bob Ford lost far more than part of his finger.
I’m not familiar with this one but it sounds interesting! Are you saying that over the course of the movie, we come to see Jesse lose his finger?
It sounds like at the start of the movie, the finger is already missing, and I would say that scars such as this one usually do a lot to hint at inner wounds and complexity. Is that the case here?
It’s mentioned and shown early. It’s totally symbolic. James’ missing part of his finger served no functional purpose in the story. Jesse isn’t slower on the draw because of it or anything like that. Beautiful film. Not void of narrative but it’s all very poetic. I remembered this one upon learning the filmmakers went through every scene where the finger appeared and digitally removed it.
Slightly off topic, but what would Rear Window be without Jimmy Stewart's cast and wheelchair? Not only does his injury set the entire plot in motion -- he would never otherwise spend hours observing his neighbors, or if he did he'd just be a creep -- but his helplessness gives Grace Kelly the opportunity to prove her own courage in a way that she would be unable to do if he were not disabled. He is already in love with her, but her willingness to put herself in danger earns his respect and admiration, which is why he decides to marry her.
I love this! I think it also puts him in a complicated situation with her: does he want her to care for him and pity him or does he want her to partner with him? Such a good movie.
Sometimes it can be poetic / thematic. Shown beautifully in the Assassination of Jesse James… we’re first shown/told about Jesse’s middle finger missing a digit by the narrator when he’s running his hand across wheat in a field. There’s a ton of theme and foreshadowing in that, loss of control, identity, humanity, less than a full F-U. Functionally, Jesse’s missing digit never had any impact on his death. Bob Ford lost far more than part of his finger.
I’m not familiar with this one but it sounds interesting! Are you saying that over the course of the movie, we come to see Jesse lose his finger?
It sounds like at the start of the movie, the finger is already missing, and I would say that scars such as this one usually do a lot to hint at inner wounds and complexity. Is that the case here?
It’s mentioned and shown early. It’s totally symbolic. James’ missing part of his finger served no functional purpose in the story. Jesse isn’t slower on the draw because of it or anything like that. Beautiful film. Not void of narrative but it’s all very poetic. I remembered this one upon learning the filmmakers went through every scene where the finger appeared and digitally removed it.