The Bedroom Window

Directed by Curtis Hanson, The Bedroom Window follows Steve Guttenberg’s Terry Lambert as he finds himself in a whole mess of trouble after reporting an assault witnessed by his boss’ wife (Isabelle Huppert’s Sylvia). Filmmaker Hanson, armed with his own screenplay, delivers an exceedingly familiar yet predominantly entertaining piece of work that does, for the most part, unfold exactly as one might’ve anticipated, as the movie progresses through an almost paint-by-numbers narrative that’s been augmented with a whole host of entertaining, affable attributes – including a series of charismatic performances and several impressively memorable sequences and set-pieces (eg Terry is attacked in court by a tenacious defense lawyer, played by Wallace Shawn). It’s worth noting, too, that The Bedroom Window benefits from Hanson’s unapologetically Hitchcockian approach to the material, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the film’s superb use of many real-life Baltimore locations heightens its perpetually watchable atmosphere. And while the picture is admittedly (and increasingly) fairly ludicrous even by the standards of this genre, The Bedroom Window, which boasts an exciting climactic stretch, ultimately comes off as an agreeably broad thriller that fares better than one had any right to expect (despite a running time that’s just a hair too long).

*** out of ****