The Woman in the Window Review

 

The Woman in the Window is a psychological thriller movie based on the 2018 novel of the same name which was written by A.J. Finn. The film is produced by 20th Century Studios, Fox 2000 Pictures, and Scott Rudin Productions and distributed by Netflix. The Woman in the Window is written by Tracy Letts and directed by Joe Wright.

The story is Dr. Anna Fox has befriend a new neighbor across from her condo. Things start to take a dramatic turn when Anna suspects some sort of foul play when the woman disappears. Was a crime committed or is Fox's agoraphobia along with other personal issues messing with her head?

Initial Reaction

Really my only two reasons for wanting to see this movie was because of Amy Adams and director Joe Wright. Amy Adams is a fantastic actress and always delivers and Joe Wright has given a lot of goods movies. Sure there was 2015's Pan but he did make up for that with 2017's Darkest Hour.

Cons

One of the many issues with The Woman in the Window is the odd editing choices. There were so many times when I found myself confused over some of the decisions made. Like this one scene, we're given a completely black screen then an apple comes flying in and we discover that Anna's taking some sort of translation test. Okay? Why did they feel the need for that odd transition? What also really brought the film down was the pacing. There are some parts where it felt like the movie wanted to take things slow and really take it's time for a scene, but then there were parts where it felt like it was a rush to get to the next scene. The best example of that last part I described is in the third act. Where told who the killer is, the motivation, Anna's fight with the killer, how she's doing after the ordeal, and then the movie ends. Nowhere during the final act are we given time to breath, be shocked, or anything else. It's like the movie itself wanted all of this to end. What also made the film a bummer was the characters. Other than Anna who overall is an okay character I didn't care for anybody else. That's not a good sign when the audience is only gonna like one character and one character only. The last thing to criticize The Woman in the Window on is, it's not a satisfying murder/mystery. Throughout the whole film there was nothing about the murder that was drawing me in or keep me interested. In matter of fact when it's revealed who the killer is I wasn't all that shocked. I just shrugged my shoulders and say "Okay, this is happening".

Middle Ground

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Pros

The only positive I can give the movie is Amy Adams' performance. I mean it, she's the only reason to watch this from beginning, middle, to end. She did a great job playing a character who's really questioning her own sanity.

The Woman in the Window is very much a letdown. It has weird editing, I have no idea if the filmmakers wanted a fast paced movie, a slow pace movie, or some sort of Frankenstein mashup of the two, Other Anna I didn't care for any of the other characters, and overall it's just not a good psychological thriller. The only good thing about was Amy Adams.

My final rating is Bad.

Well that's going to do it for me. Come back on Thursday, May 20th for my Classic Film Night review of Dirty Harry. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.