The Woman in the Window is now available on Netflix. The thriller will disappoint fans of powerful stories and fans of Alfred Hitchcock’s A Window to the Backyard, which he unabashedly imitates.
The title character of the movie is Anna, played by Amy Adams, a pediatric psychiatrist. After a personal tragedy, the woman struggles with agoraphobia and lives in isolation, slowly recovering from depression. She cannot leave the apartment, so she often watches what happens outside the window and at the neighbors. One day, I noticed that a woman who had just moved across from her had been killed …
Apparently, in “The Woman in the Window” everything is in its place – a good director (Joe Wright), a strong actor (Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman). The plot, although minor, the repeat of “Okna na backyard” threads, has the potential to make a solid old school movie. In addition, the film reaches the themes of isolation and confinement in four walls, which can definitely resonate with many viewers in times of the pandemic. There is also the topic of voyeurism, although it was better touched upon decades ago in Hitchcock’s masterpiece mentioned above, which has not lost much of its relevance yet.
Unfortunately, the creators of Women at the Window didn’t know very well what they had to say. The movie is terribly inconsistent.
You can complain about the redundancy, but I think I’d prefer it if it’s just a fresh version of “Windows in the Courtyard.” The story, which Hitchuk told years ago, remains unparalleled, stays global, and timeless. Of course, it’s best to watch the original movie, which I personally consider one of the best in cinematic history. However, if someone wishes to follow this path today, re-decision-making would be better.
“The Woman in the Window” resembles at best a lean version of Brian De Palma’s thriller novels. Wright put the entire plot together so subtly that he didn’t even have to delve into scenes and leave any clues for him – everything is painfully predictable and poorly written. After about 20 minutes into the session, you will easily be able to predict the first plot twists. And the latter, indeed in the end, is also so childishly evident that I’m in shock that a skilled filmmaker like Joe Wright allowed himself to do just that.
Plus, this latest development is as strange and cheesy as it is completely insensitive to the main plot of “Woman in the Window”.
I don’t want to divulge the details and spoil the (questionable) pleasure, but the full story of a woman struggling with trauma and struggling with mental issues was completely destroyed in the final chapter. On the one hand, the authors presented a psychological drama, and on the other hand, they cast thrill-like metaphors, and at some point they began to contradict themselves, subvert the main plot and upset “the woman in the window”.
Also from a visual standpoint, “The Woman in the Window” is a strange movie at least. On the other hand, it gives us sexy shots that show the effective eye of Wright. On the other hand, frames punctuated from time to time insistently quotes “Window to the Backyard” and De Palma imitates his weaker period and resembles the cheap thrills of a theatrical scene.
It would be a much better movie if the creators focused on the drama and psychological pain of the main character.
Thick leads and an unbelievable criminal plot in the background squeezed the story down to a lousy wash for Hitchcock.
Unfortunate, because it could have been a totally serious and engaging thing.
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