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This is the kind of thriller you'd expect Alfred Hitchcock to do with someone like James Stewart or Cary Grant as everyman.

Here we have STEVE GUTTENBERG as the man in big trouble after witnessing a murder from his lover's bedroom window. He's having an affair with the boss' wife and nobly tells her that he'll give details of the assailant (which she saw) to keep their affair hidden from her husband. So far, so good. The story is stylishly photographed with the appropriate menacing mood and atmosphere.

But he soon becomes the man suspected of the crime and it's from that point on that the plot contrivances become just a little too implausible, straining credibility until the very suspenseful ending. Too bad. Otherwise, it's a tricky piece of entertainment and well worth watching.

ISABELLE HUPPERT has a little trouble getting her lines across with her French accent being quite a handicap but she's beautiful to look at. ELIZABETH McGOVERN does a nice job as Guttenberg's partner in finding the real killer.

It moves quickly under writer/director CURTIS HANSON's direction. While many consider it "counterfeit Hitchcock", it's still worth a look.

It's a thriller set in Baltimore, Maryland, in the 1980s. It's based on the 1971 novel, "The Witnesses," by Anne Holden. It follows a young executive who, amid an affair with his boss's wife, winds up under suspicion for three murders.

Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) is an executive in a construction company owned by Collin Wentworth (Paul Shenar). Terry has had the hots for Collin's wife, Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert), and convinces her to leave a party early and come to his place. After their tryst, he goes to the bathroom. Sylvia hears screaming outside and, from the bedroom window, witnesses a man brutally assaulting a woman. The man runs away when he sees Sylvia. Unfortunately, another young woman is murdered nearby that same evening. To protect their relationship, Terry goes to the police claiming to have been the witness to the assault from the window. He meets the assault victim, Denise (Elizabeth McGovern), at a lineup. From Sylvia's description, Terry thinks he recognizes the villain in the lineup, Chris Henderson (Brad Greenquist), but is uncertain.

During the rest of the film, Terry begins to follow Henderson. Through the complex storyline, the police begin to suspect Terry of two murders because they know he has lied to them, though they're not clear about what. A final murder forces Terry and Denise to try to set a trap for the killer, and the film's climax reveals how that effort went.

"The Bedroom Window" is a pretty good thriller for the first hour and a half. But, unfortunately, the final half-hour includes plot sequences that seriously detract from the believability of the ending.

Many reviewers perceive a lack of chemistry between Guttenberg and Huppert. I had no issue with this, considering Huppert's character was naturally manipulative and self-serving. McGovern's role suffers from some of the silly script at the film's end, but she is effective through the trial scenes. Shenar's character was a little too clueless.

The Bedroom Window is one of those films you can just stick on to blow the cobwebs away when you're tired. It's not life-affirming or magnificent; but it's well constructed and a lot of fun to watch. The film is often compared to Hitchcock, and that's mostly owing to the central plot which clearly takes influence from Rear Window, although director Curtis Hanson does occasionally implement a Hitchcock-like style during the rest of the film. It is not, however, comparable to the films Brian De Palma made in the seventies and eighties. The film focuses on a man named Terry Lambert. Terry is having an affair with Sylvia; his boss' wife. Whilst at his apartment one night, Sylvia spots a man being attacked out of the window. The next morning, another girl turns up dead and Terry, thinking the two incidents may be related, decides to go to the police and tell them that he witnessed the attack. However, things soon start to spiral out of control when Sylvia will have nothing to do with it for fear of the affair being exposed, and the police begin suspecting Terry.

Steve Guttenberg; an actor often not taken seriously because of his ties to the Police Academy series, takes the lead role and does surprisingly well with it. Guttenberg cuts a likable figure who is easy to root for, and that is important in a film like this. The story moves well throughout; and although I initially felt that almost two hours was too long for a film like this; the time is well used and the film flies by. The Bedroom Window is based on a novel by Anne Holden; and directed by Curtis Hanson; the talented director of the 1997 masterpiece L.A. Confidential. Hanson's direction is assured and he does a good job of telling the story. The support cast is decent too; the casting of Isabelle Hupert is a bit of a surprise considering most of her previous films were made in her native France; but Elizabeth McGovern is a good choice as the victim of the attack towards the start. The first two thirds of the film are rather subdued; and so it's a bit of a surprise when the film explodes into life for the final half hour. However, the change works well and the payoff is worth it.

Directed by future phenom Curtis (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) Hanson, THE BEDROOM WINDOW is an elegant Hitchcock homage, and an example of good 1980s moviemaking. Its got a certain vibe, thanks to terrific cinematography by the great Gilbert Taylor, production design by Ron Foreman, and expert direction by Hanson. REAR WINDOW it ain't, but this jazzy film is still worth a look. Lighten up folks!

The Bedroom Window is directed by Curtis Hanson who also adapts the screenplay from the novel The Witnesses written by Anne Holden. It stars Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, Isabelle Huppert, Brad Greenquist and Paul Shenar. Music is by Patrick Gleeson and Michael Shrieve and cinematography by Gilbert Taylor.

Terry Lambert (Guttenberg) is having an affair with his boss' wife Sylvia Wentworth (Huppert). Together one night at Terry's apartment, Sylvia witnesses from the bedroom window an attack on Denise (McGovern) and scares off the assailant. Not wishing to expose her affair with Terry, she refuses to report what she saw, instead allowing Terry to come forward to help the police finger the man who Sylvia saw by pretending it was he who witnessed the crime. But when Terry's evidence comes under scrutiny he finds himself the focus of the police search for the rapist and murderer at large...

With shades of Hitchcock and De Palma, The Bedroom Window is an effective neo-noir like thriller. Guttenberg's protagonist begins to pay severely for his illicit dalliances as he lands in a world quickly spinning out of his control. Duped and a victim of circumstance, this law abiding citizen just wants to do the right thing. This sets up a narrative that isn't shy to toy with audience expectations, keeping suspense high as the wronged man - aided by a spunky femme - sets about proving his innocence and ensuring the guilty man, Henderson (Grenquist) (who we know about from the off) is brought to justice. A couple of twists keep things perky, where even though some contrived events ask a lot of the audience, film never drifts into the mundane.

Hanson would strike a considerable chord with the neo-noir faithful when he brought L.A. Confidential to the screen in 1997. Here, much like with Bad Influence (1990), the director hones his skills as a visualist. The Baltimore locations are often shaded as being places of possible peril, while Gilbert Taylor's photography neatly blends golden promise in daytime shots with shadowy menace at night. Acting performances are hit and miss. Guttenberg surprisingly is effective in a serious role, mainly because it fits the character to have an easy going guy spun into disarray. Huppert struggles as the femme fatale by giving a one dimensional turn, but McGovern lights up the screen with poise and purpose and saves the film from taking a trip up average street in the final third. As for Greenquist? Visually scary and Hanson wisely keeps him as a silent assassin type.

Those contrivances, a dated feel and the valid charges of it being copyist have kept it from essential viewing status. But there is still a strong thriller in the mix and for anyone interested in Hanson's work this is a good addition to your required viewing list. 7/10