Although I’ve never cared for Steve Guttenberg as an actor, I must admit he fits the bill in the mystery / suspense thriller The Bedroom Window (1987).  Guttenberg plays a yuppie architect whose casual affair with the boss’ wife (Isabelle Huppert) inadvertently leads him into the center of a murder investigation.

Curtis Hanson adapted the screenplay from Anne Holden’s novel The Witnesses, and directed the film a full decade before his finest accomplishment, L. A. Confidential.  Yet Hanson was learning his trade well.  The Bedroom Window is structured like many other witnesses-see-a-crime-and-must-solve-it-on-their-own stories, but this one is smart where others fall apart.  Most protagonists in films of this ilk are loathe to go to the police; here, Guttenberg willingly volunteers information, and that’s what leads him into trouble.  The brief courtroom scene is well staged, demonstrating how something that seems open-and-shut is usually anything but.  And the killer is as intelligent or more so than the people trying to catch him in the act.

Another positive aspect is that while Guttenberg’s character is the story’s catalyst, two women are just as crucial.  Huppert has the flashier role as the boss’ wife who refuses to become involved in the murder case, and the underrated Elizabeth McGovern is terrific as a woman who survives an attack by the killer and seeks revenge.  Many films of this type relegate women to the background, but Hanson understands that women are not only the lure for the killer but having them stand up for themselves in all situations is good drama.

A few unlikely or implausible moments prevent the film from attaining a higher rating, but it’s craftsmanship and effectiveness is undeniable.  As for Guttenberg, he acquits himself well as the affable everyman whose fateful phone call has far-reaching consequences.  My rating:  ☆ ☆ ☆.  (9:1).