Faux témoin

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.

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.

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

This thriller would have made a great Hitchcock movie. As it stands, it's not too bad but it could have been so much better. However, any film that can engage the attention for nearly two hours must have something going for it and this does have an intriguing story line. It also has the advantage of a good cast, Steve Guttenberg is his usual affable self doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, Elizabeth McGovern brings a wonderful hard edge to her performance and Isabelle Huppert is beautiful but nasty. Brad Greenquist manages to imbue his role with a sinister quality without saying barely a word. The plot doesn't really hold up unfortunately and there are plenty of scenes that stretch credulity just too far. However if you are prepared to accept the film on just a surface level you will find yourself nicely entertained.

Although he rarely gets respect from the critics, Steve Guttenberg was quite a big film star in the 1980's. He made his first impression as a pudgy teenager who gets killed by Gregory Peck in the excellent "Boys From Brazil"(1978). The classic "Diner"(MGM,1982) established him as a fine actor and in "Police Academy"(1984) he was suddenly a buff leading man in a critically maligned yet audience loved box office blockbuster. He was now a "STAR" and the smash hits kept coming: several "Police Academy" sequels, "Short Circuit"(1985) and its sequel, the Oscar-winning classic Ron Howard's "Coccoon"(Universal, 1985) whose pool scene established him as a minor sex symbol, and finally the massive blockbuster "Three Men and a Baby"(Disney, 1987). Director/writer Curtis Hanson then cast him in the excellent Hitchcockian thriller "The Bedroom Window"(1987) alongside another young star of the time Elizabeth McGovern who had made a major impact in "Ragtime"(Paramount, 1981). Now he was a full-fledged star of a Top "A" quality film. This excellent thriller will keep you glued to screen. Hanson's taut direction, the gorgeous cinematography, and the excellent cast will hold your attention. The script has a couple holes but it is still very good. And Guttenberg who had a goofy face and could look geeky if not photographed carefully looks great so this should have been another feather in his cap. However this film tanked. Why I will never know. After this he would have one more big hit with "Three Men and a Little Lady"(Disney, 1990) and that was it. His career never recovered. Nonetheless his best films are definitely worth a look and "The Bedroom Window" is certainly among his best.