An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.
Chuck says:
If nothing else, you have to tip your hat to director Joe Wright for giving credit where it’s due in his latest, “The Woman in the Window.” His protagonist, the VERY troubled psychiatrist Anna Fox not only suffers from paranoid delusions and identity issues but she’s a voyeur as well. Fortunately, she’s a film buff with an extensive collection of movies so Wright can conveniently insert scenes from “Vertigo,” “Spellbound,” “Dark Passage” and others in the background in case the viewer isn’t quite sure what’s at play.
Confusion regarding the plot and the desire to see those film classics are likely to be common reactions to “Woman.” After testing poorly with audiences in 2019, Fox 2000 ordered reshoots, proving the suits at the studio had never heard of that old adage about throwing good money after bad. Scheduled for release twice, only to be pulled on each occasion, Netflix has inexplicably ridden to the rescue, taking it off the studio’s hands in an effort to…well, I’m not sure. The streaming service certainly isn’t lacking for content Did they hope they could lure viewers with its impressive cast? Again, good money after bad…
Based on the novel by A.J. Finn, this is less a movie than a parlor game and a poorly executed one at that. Anna (a very good Amy Adams) is suffering from agoraphobia and is separated from her husband and daughter (Anthony Mackie and Mariah Bozeman respectively). In addition to watching movies and taking her many meds with wine chasers, she watches her new neighbors. She observes that husband and wife, Alistair and Jane (Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore) fight a bit too often while their teenage son, Ethan (Fred Hechinger) is caught in the middle. Things take a major turn one night when Anna sees Jane stabbed to death. A frantic call is made, the police summoned and upon investigation they turn up Alistair’s wife, Jane (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who is very much alive but obviously a different woman. Did Anna see someone else killed? Was it all in her head? One thing becomes apparent and that/s someone has been murdered. Trying to figure out who it was and who did her in, push Anna past her breaking point.
It becomes readily apparent that what Anna sees is not to be trusted, so the viewer is never sure whether to take what’s shown at face value or not. However, once we get some background on her, the pieces start to fall into place as to why she is in the state she’s in and acts the way she does…or we think they are until Wright pulls the rug out from under us once more.
It’s that kind of movie and while I don’t mind being manipulated in thrillers of this sort, I want it to be done honestly. There’s no shortage of diversions offered up throughout – Alistair is suspect number one because, well, he’s played by Gary Oldman at his most unhinged, while Anna’s downstairs tenant David (Wyatt Russell) exudes sketchiness. They’re such obvious choices for the role of bad guy du jour you know they’re red herrings.
Once the big reveal is made and the bad guy unmasked, it’s likely to leave you incredulous. Frankly, I’m not even sure this revelation makes sense, but the fact that I could care less about going back and trying to figure it out, tells you all you need to know about “Woman,”, a misfire that, for everyone’s sake, would have been better off staying on the shelf.
2 Stars
