Netflix Now: The Woman in the Window (2021) - Reviewed

image courtesy Netflix

Amy Adams stars in the recent Netflix release of The Woman in the Window. Based on the novel by A.J. Finn, the streaming service opted the Fox/Disney film for release on its platform after its theatrical release was pulled due to the pandemic. 

This latest project from director Joe Wright is a Hitchockian drama/thriller that sees an agoraphobic woman doing battle with her own demons and a bloody crime she witnesses when spying on her dramatic neighbors. After a personal tragedy, Anna (Adams) has locked herself away inside her home. Fearful of any outside influence and blurring out reality by a steady cocktail of doctor prescribed drugs and a heavy flow of booze, she spirals into a perceived madness. As her demons come into focus she lunges further down a pathway of self destruction that's fueled by a grizzly murder she thinks she's witnessed. 

In her drug addled prescription and wine haze, she can't make out the difference between reality and fiction. This sets her up for a high stakes gambit against a woefully miscast Gary Oldman, a pair of detectives, her basement dwelling tenant, and an emotionally damaged teenage boy. Yes, there's a lot to swallow, but even in its worst moments Joe Wright wades steadily into waters previously tread by numerous other directors and does a fair job at offering a leveled effort that's fully recognizable as a tribute to legendary creators and their classic movies. 



Taking much of its influence from Rear Window, there are numerous callbacks to a greater time in film that also includes heavy handed references to Brian De Palma's '80s erotic masterpiece Body Double and several others about spying neighbors finding themselves in trouble against their nearby enemies. If anything, Wright proves that he's got a firm handle on creating tension while also securing another great performance from the always amazing Adams. 

Wright fully captures a cinematic aesthetic based in darkness and a claustrophobic feel that lends itself perfectly to the plot and Adams' tightly wound character flaws. However, some of the cultural baggage that's left on the floor is revealing to say the least. Why in our age of awareness are women still not to be believed when they cry out for help?

Much of the movie is a misfire or partially misguided, but when The Woman in the Window hits its stride, it definitely has something to say. And the visual elements are definitely intrusive enough to suggest a viewing. 

-CG