Director Nosipho Dumisa definitely had the goal of paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" with "Number 37" and thankfully, it does so while managing to stand out as a thriller in its own right. In the film, Randel takes to watching his neighbors with a pair of binoculars after a recent illicit deal gone wrong leaves him wheelchair bound and in the ghettos of South Africa. He is indebted to a violent loan shark who comes knocking on the door and demonstrates what will happen if Randal doesn't settle his debt before the end of the week. While spying on his neighbors, he notices that one of the neighborhood gangsters has a stash of money in his apartment. With his girlfriend's aid, he plans on stealing the money before the deadline. Much like "Rear Window," much of the tension comes from Randal looking through his binoculars and observing events unfold from his wheelchair. The performances from all the actors are top notch, especially with Irshaad Ally, who gives a particularly captivating performance as the disabled Randal. "Number 37" offers a lot of high tension, heart-stopping moments that I recommend to Hitchcock fans for the way it transplants the premise of "Rear Window" in a contemporary setting.
Review of Number 37
