Rope

I've thought of killing a person for game, for the thrill, for the excitement I thought it may bring. This idea was one that occurred to me during a moment of intense boredom and loneliness. I had seen the stories of many of the most famous serial killers of all time, primarily the Zodiac Killer, I was enamored by what could cause a person to commit such a crime for fun and without regret. The desire to toy with the vary people meant to establish order and prevent chaos. I thought that some people simply offered nothing to our society and this is to some extent true, but do they deserve death? I've decided they don't, this idea is deeply tied to that of capital punishment. The idea that some people can commit a crime so unforgiveable that we are allowed to play god and deliver judgement on who does and doesn't desire to live. Killers do the same, they may kill out of a deep hatred, simply because they can, or because of a deep seated pride. Rope tells the story of a man who believes he can play god, he thinks he can commit the "perfect murder". Brandon believes him self to be a superior intellectual mind to that of others, accusing all besides himself, his accomplice, and his mentor to be the same, at least of the cast we are presented with in this film. This film deconstructs many of the archetypes of high-society America, vanity, superiority, longing, and wealth. Brandon's fatal flaw of pride is abundantly clear, and in the final act of this film I truly understood it's message, and it completely and totally destroyed the cynical worldview that existed somewhere deep in my subconscious, even though I, much like Rupert, would likely never have acted on those ideas. This film accomplishes a miracle I haven't seen executed so perfectly since 12 Angry Men with the limited setting and tight dialogue. This all goes without mentioning what is likely one of the first "queer" films, while not explicitly stated there is some obvious subtext pointed out by many, of how the two leads are likely gay in a society that doesn't accept them. Rope is the first Hitchcock film I've ever watched and an all-time masterpiece of suspense and the thriller genre.