Woman in the Window (2021)

[AngieBee1]

Tracey Lett's adaptation of A.J Finn's novel of the same name, directed by Joe Wright (DARKEST HOUR, ATONEMEN) and starring Amy Adams. One of few remaining Fox films that Disney acquired, the film has been delayed for various reasons since 2019 before being sold to Netflix. 

It was a good Saturday afternoon watch and I'm someone who feels that there is still a place in film for mid-budget adult dramas in a field crowded by comic book movies, but I wish this film was sharper.  Wright did an outstanding job with the camera work and creating a almost Hitchcock-ian atmosphere, but I think the weak link was Adams.  I think the film would have worked better if she and Julianne Moore had swapped places.

[Brn2bwild]

I was prepared to be really disappointed by this movie based on the reviews, but it was campy fun.  I could tell pretty early on some of the major plot twists, such as

Spoiler

that the husband and daughter were all in her head, and that Ethan really killed his mother

but it still kept me guessing a bit, and I liked the moody look and camera work, capturing what it would be like to be so isolated.  One question I had was whether when the detectives came by, the woman detective's hostility was in Anna's head or real.  She just seemed so over-the-top hostile to the very possibility Anna's account could be accurate because Anna is a shut-in with mental health issues.

[AngieBee1]

The female detective's demeanor tracked to me because there are things in the scene (trying to not be spoiler here) where the detectives have already have insight that makes them believe Anna is an unreliable narrator.  

 

[Spartan Girl]

I read the book, so I already knew the big twist, but even if I hadn’t, I would have figured it out. Never trust a creepy white boy lol.

Amy had a good performance. The REAL star was Punch the cat!

[SallyAlbright]

I feel bad because I absolutely hated it! I love Amy Adams, Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore. I like most of Joe Wright's previous films, too, but this just really did not work for me. Other than the house and the cat, both of which were awesome. 

I read the book which I thought was a quick, entertaining read but nothing exceptional - still, it was enough for me to be willing to check out the film adaptation. It just felt so campy and stage-y and I thought the kid that played Ethan was a really weak actor. It also felt like the big "twists" were revealed in such a matter of fact way and then quickly brushed aside. I don't know, the tone was just really odd. 

That said, the author of the book is a psycho (if anyone hasn't already read this) - sometimes real life is stranger than fiction! I feel like his story would make a better (creepier) movie 😂

[benteen]

I saw it.  It kept me interested and entertained.  Amy Adams makes her character far more likable and tolerable than she probably had any right to be.  That's not surprising coming from Amy Adams.  Julianne Moore manages to steal the scene that she's in.  The movie could have used more of her.

But it does start to fall apart towards the end.  Maybe his scenes were lost in the reedit but Gary Oldman is completed wasted in this movie (though provides some unintentional humor).  Jennifer Jason Leigh is also wasted in her.

Quote

and I thought the kid that played Ethan was a really weak actor.

A thousand times this.  I think with a better script that didn't waste so many of its cast, this could have been a really good film.  It's not 30% on Rotten Tomatoes bad but it could have been a much better movie.

[Razzberry]

14 hours ago, SallyAlbright said:

I feel bad because I absolutely hated it! I love Amy Adams, Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore. I like most of Joe Wright's previous films, too, but this just really did not work for me. Other than the house and the cat, both of which were awesome. 

I read the book which I thought was a quick, entertaining read but nothing exceptional - still, it was enough for me to be willing to check out the film adaptation. It just felt so campy and stage-y and I thought the kid that played Ethan was a really weak actor. It also felt like the big "twists" were revealed in such a matter of fact way and then quickly brushed aside. I don't know, the tone was just really odd. 

That said, the author of the book is a psycho (if anyone hasn't already read this) - sometimes real life is stranger than fiction! I feel like his story would make a better (creepier) movie 😂

From just the title I thought this was a remake of Fritz Lang's thriller "Woman In The Window" from 1944, but it sounds like he only took the title. Isn't there some law about two films with same name?  Gets confusing. The rest seems like a pastiche of other works.  From the article:

Mallory has said that his second novel will be set in San Francisco. It will have the flavor of an Agatha Christie story, and will be partly set in a Victorian mansion. It’s a story of revenge, he has said, involving a female thriller writer and an interviewer who learns of a dark past. He hopes to turn it into a television series. 

Except for the location it's already been done as "Another Man's Poison" with Bette Davis.  This guy might just be a good con artist.

[MaggieG]

It wasn't a bad way to spend Fri night. I read the book as well but for some reason I forgot who the killer was lol. 

I agree this was a waste of Gary Oldman and his wig. JJL had 2 lines? I did like Wyatt Russell in this. He's doing well breaking out of the goofy type roles into the serious, creep roles.

[One Imaginary Girl]

Those cliches at the end! A thunderstorm, a killer who talks so much that the intended victim is ultimately able to escape. Were those in the book?

[Enero]

On 5/16/2021 at 9:41 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I read the book, so I already knew the big twist, but even if I hadn’t, I would have figured it out. Never trust a creepy white boy lol.

Amy had a good performance. The REAL star was Punch the cat!

This! I figured out the big twist as soon as he showed up in her house feigning distress. Lol. I was thinking “Lady you have no idea what’s really going on over there. No matter what this teary eyed boy says.”  Lol.

The whole plot was pretty cliche and thus predictable save for why she was in the predicament she was in. I figured her husband and daughter

were dead but couldn’t guess the exact details of their death

. Still it was entertaining enough. 

[Nordly Beaumont]

On 5/18/2021 at 9:15 AM, MaggieG said:

I did like Wyatt Russell in this. He's doing well breaking out of the goofy type roles into the serious, creep roles.

I thought WR didn't do well in a different sort of role. But maybe it's just me that can't accept WR in a different sort of role...

When Amy Adams found her phone under the bed, and there was a very dramatic (for no reason) scene of her crawling under the bed and reaching for it - was I the only one who yelled "Just go around to the other side of the bed, you ding dong!"?

 

[Razzberry]

14 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

When Amy Adams found her phone under the bed, and there was a very dramatic (for no reason) scene of her crawling under the bed and reaching for it - was I the only one who yelled "Just go around to the other side of the bed, you ding dong!"?

I didn't yell, but I was thinking it.  Very odd.  I don't think I've ever seen so much heavy lifting from other works all in one place.  Rear Window, Copycat, a bit of Body Double, and countless people who've crashed through skylights.

[Kel Varnsen]

Watched this with my wife this evening. Pretty decent for a movie we could agree on. Crazy good cast, and a movie that has 2 Captain Americas (or is it Captains America?). I was totally expecting the downstairs tenant to be in on it more since he was from Boston and the new family was from Boston.

Also how did anyone find Any Adams on the roof at the end when? Her only real, living, connection to the outside world was her doctor who was only coming a few times a week. So did she just lie on the roof until he came for his next appointment?

[Ms Blue Jay]

This movie sucked.  I was sooooooo excited for it too.