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Bedroom Window, The

After leaving his boss's company party, Terry (Steve Guttenberg) awaits anxiously for Sylvia (Isabella Huppert), his boss's wife, who finally gives in to Terry and meets him at his apartment. Sylvia is attracted to Terry's kindness, determination, devotion and aim-to-please attitude. Sylvia likes being desired and wanted passionately by someone like Terry, a man who will take her in and admire her. Sylvia's husband, Colin (Paul Shenar), is a rich and powerful man who has been lacking in keeping Sylvia's heart afire, but she would never leave her stuffy, comfortable, well-to-do lifestyle with Colin, even for Terry.

Terry is just a sweet piece of candy to enjoy now and then -- lousy for Terry, for he is becoming emotionally attached to this very classy and sophisticated lady. After Terry excuses himself to use the bathroom, Sylvia hears screaming outside the bedroom window moments later. As Sylvia approaches the window, she sees a man attacking a woman. Sylvia yells for Terry, but he cannot hear her. She struggles to open the window and finally pushes it open, startling the man and causing him to run off and leave the frightened woman screaming on the sidewalk as help approaches. Sylvia is upset by what she saw and, after realizing how late it is, decides it's best to go home to her husband and put the horrible ordeal behind her. This is not as easy for Terry to put behind him when he reads in the paper the next morning that a young woman was murdered only a short time and distance away from the attack Sylvia witnessed.

After convicing Sylvia that her name will not be divulged, Terry makes a phone call to the police, saying he was the one who witnessed the attack. When the police insist on questioning the witness, Sylvia decribes the details of the assailant to Terry. Officers Quirke (Carl Lumbly) and Jessup (Frederick Coffin) show up at Terry's apartment and are very impressed with his eye for detail. After Terry's statement, Quirke and Jessup strongly feel that they know the man who has been assulting woman recently in the area. When the police ask Terry to come into the station, Terry assumes that it is to confirm his recent statement. Not true, Terry is there to pick out the assailant from a police line-up and he is not the only one to do so. Denise (Elizabeth McGovern), the woman who Terry allegedly saved, is there as well. Terry can't make a positive ID and the police who felt certain they had their killer had to release the alleged assailant, a man by the name of Henderson (Brad Greenquist).

Frustrated by knowing Henderson is the man killing these women, but unable to prove it, Terry decides to follow Henderson to a local bar. The bar is pretty packed and there is some excitment over a girl dancing provocatively. Terry notices Henderson watching the young woman. Terry loses sight of Henderson when a waitress spills a beer on him. Later in the evening after leaving the bar, Terry sees a crowd of people standing outside with police in the background. Terry learns that a woman has been murdered. As the police take the woman away, her arm slips out from the plastic covering her body. Her arm has gold bracelets on it and her hair is blonde -- just like the woman he saw Henderson watching in the bar.

Terry goes to the police with what he has discovered, hoping it will help put Henderson away. Terry's problems only get worse as he is summoned to appear in court as the key witness in the assault case of Denise. Sylvia is still unwilling to step forward with the truth, so she decides to coach Terry in the courtroom. All goes well with Terry's statement and he thinks he just walked down easy street until it's time for Henderson's attorney (Wallace Shawn) to cross examine Terry. Denise notices Sylvia giving information to Terry as he struggles with some questions. Terry's credibility is devoured on the witness stand with evidence proving Terry is nearsighted, thus making him unable to pass the simple eye test planned by Henderson's attorney. Denise is not the only one who saw Sylvia coaching Terry in the courtroom. Henderson now knows Sylvia is the real witness.

The case is thrown out and the police now have a new suspect...Terry! Sylvia has now confessed to Colin that she slept with Terry once, now taking herself out of the picture and Terry is unable to rely on her help. Terry, with Denise's help, works on a way to clear his name and implicate the real killer...Henderson. There are some groovy tunes comfortably spaced throughout the movie, especially in the bar scenes. A classic is played while Denise is undercover playing pool with some undesirables while trying to get the attention of Henderson (you'll know what I mean if you have seen the movie, if you haven't, it is worth the watch)!

The music is the trigger that awakens the sickness in Henderson. There is a lot of personality to this movie on a visual level. The attractiveness and seediness of the city is dressed with natural-looking elements of cascading rain, sun-soaked views of mellow-colored old buildings, bright, loud colors of the night's lime light, and creepy lit, and dirty-looking street corners. I higly recommend The Bedroom Window. It is a slick, intelligent, well-crafted movie that's jam packed with intrigue, suspense, and a cast played with tremendous talent all leading up to a spine-tingling finale!

Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean

Reviewers Rating: 8.5
Reader's Rating: 4.75
Reader's Votes: 4

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