The Woman in the Window (2021)

Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie
Runtime: 100 minutes

Synopsis: An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.

Verdict: I’ve never been a big admirer of Joe Wright’s work. I tend to find his films to be stale, bland, and rather dull. For that reason, and the fact that its production encountered countless obstacles that led to it being fished out by Netflix, my expectations for his latest thriller starring Amy Adams and a bunch of other A-listers that include Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, or Bryan Tyree Henry were not exceptionally high.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, “The Woman in the Window” tells the story of an agoraphobic child psychiatrist who witnesses the murder of her neighbor while spying on her and her family from her apartment. The story feels very familiar, and chances are that if you’ve seen any movie with a similar plot, the element of surprise that it so heavily relies on will immediately dissipate, only to make place to illusions of tension and a bunch of questionable creative choices.

Even if Amy Adams does everything in her power to salvage the movie with her performance, I was never entirely sold on her character which dangerously walked the line separating her persona from a parodic rendition of it. The script’s thin dialogue and Wright’s mishandling of tense situations were no help to her in that regard, making it difficult to throw the blame entirely on her, but those who were at the very least hoping to get an Amy Adams at the top of her game will also leave the film with a sour taste in their mouths.

“The Woman in the Window” opens with footage of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” playing on the protagonist’s TV, a clear message to the audience as to where the inspiration of the narrative came from. However, I was much more reminded of the Emily Blunt starring psychological thriller “The Girl on the Train” which was exceptional in how unexceptional and forgettable it was. In summary, a frustrating watch that failed to exceed my already feeble expectations.

FINAL GRADE: 4/10