Netflix’s The Woman in the Window – An Unengaging and Unexciting Thriller

The Woman in the Window is a film based on the book of the same name written by A. J. Finn. Without any prior experience with the book, it’d certainly be fascinating to see exactly how different the movie adaptation is. Amy Adams stars as Anna Fox as the titular character, a woman suffering from agoraphobia and thus cannot leave her house. This in itself makes Anna’s situation interesting, but things become even more hectic once Anna sees something she shouldn’t have through her apartment window. The scenes are shot from Anna’s perspective, and even though she is agoraphobic, she is not socially inept. In fact, she knows how to deal with people a lot better than many as a psychologist that helps abused and traumatized children.

Once Anna meets and connects with her neighbor from across the street named Jane Russell (Julianne Moore), the film’s pacing falls in line with the unfolding events. As The Woman in the Window is primarily a thriller, viewers would surely expect to be intrigued and hesitant all at once, which is certainly what happened here. As we watch Anna go about her day, we come to the realization she herself requires therapy for whatever it was that plagued her and her thoughts. Through glimpses of life going on outside her window, Anna passes the hours by focusing on anything other than herself, much to the unhappiness of her neighbors.

One enjoyable aspect of The Woman in the Window was how it was shot almost entirely in one location being Anna’s house. The filmmakers did a great job of creating a such a claustrophobic feeling out of a rather large house, an environment where one would think Anna should feel safe but she doesn’t. Anna’s already fragile mind begins to play tricks on her or at least that’s the film wants us to believe. Viewers are likely to find themselves questioning Anna’s logic and her conviction to the truth every step of the way, which makes for some excellent drama.

In terms of its performances, Amy Adams is of course fantastic as Anna Fox. She takes the character to dizzying heights and is every bit the agoraphobic and lonely woman she portrays. Gary Oldman is also impressive as Alistair, Jane Russell’s husband. But it’s Jane and Alistair’s son Ethan (Fred Hechinger) that brings an element of stability into Anna’s world. She sees him as someone she can help and reach out to.

While The Woman in the Window isn’t necessarily predictable, it still featured some annoying scenes primarily due to the fact they weren’t very believable. While Anna’s mental state is anything but a joke, how everyone she meets treats her is cringeworthy. Are we supposed to believe that even officers of the law wouldn’t be even-keeled enough to give Anna at least some benefit of the doubt? One would think detectives were trained to look at all sides, not just take someone at face value and assume that person is “crazy” and, therefore, not to be trusted.

In the end, The Woman in the Window doesn’t try to be something it’s not, but its lackluster final act that will probably have some people rolling their eyes. This is a shame because one would expect something more engrossing or at least more exciting, and unfortunately, it was neither of these things. Ultimately, the film fails to deliver on almost every level other than a strong performance by Amy Adams.

still courtesy of Netflix

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