The Perfect Murder In Alfred Hitchcock's Film Rope

The film Rope takes place in the year it was created, 1948. It begins in Brandon’s (John Dall) studio apartment where he and his best friend (and theoretical lover), Philip (Farley Granger) have just committed the “perfect murder” (Hitchcock, Rope). The rest of their evening is plotted around exhibiting their murder as if it's a work of art, with the victim’s family and friends as spectators. Brandon believes himself to be a superior human, thus being the reason he was so easily able to pull of the perfect murder. He plays a game using Rupert (James Stewart), an old friend of theirs and the victim, David, as the detective. Brandon thought if he could get it past Rupert, it truly would be the perfect murder. Ultimately, of course, Rupert caught on, exposing Brandon and Philip, proving that a superiority complex surely leads to the reveal of inferiority, this is evident in the film Rope by Alfred Hitchcock. In a close-up shot, a rope is tied around a stack of books to be given to David’s father, exposing Brandon’s arrogance; as Philip plays the piano the tempo increases as his heart rate increases, which we can infer is due to his nervousness that

As Rupert explains, the camera follows his direction, leading to a high angle on the lounge chair. In this angle, Hitchcock uses dramatic irony to exhibit Rupert’s high intelligent as he is so close to what truly occurred. Looking down on the chair highlights how someone seated in it would be in a menial position, meaning they could easily have been taken advantage of. As he places himself in the mindset of a murderer, Rupert knows this would have given the upper-hand. Meanwhile Brandon is practically giddy as Rupert pieces together the crime. Brandon is under the impression that Rupert will agree, so when he does just the opposite, Brandon is reluctant to accept that he is no more superior than anyone