The Woman in the Window Movie Review

The Woman in the Window (2021)

Watch The Woman in the Window on Netflix
Written by: Tracy Letts (screenplay by), A.J. Finn (based upon the novel by)
Directed by: Joe Wright
Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

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

Verdict
This feels like the sad remake of Hitchcock's Rear Window. A movie like this works best with an ending that builds upon what preceded it, or provides a twist that makes us want to rewatch for the clues. This provides an unpredictable ending with no weight. I was left thinking, "I watched this whole thing for that ending?" That's after being bored for most of the movie, hoping the ending could salvage this somehow. It didn't.
Skip it.

Review
A movie like this works best with a smart ending, something that builds upon what we've seen instead of a character information dumping everything we need to know despite conveniently leaving it out earlier when revealing it would matter.

I wonder how so many stars signed up for this. Remaking or paying homage to a Hitchcock movie without adding anything to it makes me wonder how this got so many stars. I imagine living inside a characters mind worked a lot better in the book version.

Amy Adams plays Anna.

Anna doesn't leave the house which generates the base for the plot. This gets over dramatic whenever she comes close to leaving the house. Maybe it's trying to relate how dramatic it is for Anna, but it just doesn't work. It's a way to force tension without feeling earned.

Anna meets Jane and that's a weird interaction. This takes a strange jump from Anna attempting to go outside to the cops questioning her. It's an odd jump. Anna met Jane who she's told isn't Jane. That's the plot. I assume the movie wants us to assume she's delusional, but hopefully there is more to it. I'm left wondering how this could be plotted against her or why. What does it matter.

Her tenant changes from being nice and helpful to hateful. Is this more delusions? Anna isn't very likable. I'm against her, and that doesn't l seem to be the intention.

Gary Oldman, Jeanine Serralles, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry

There's got to be a twist, but this gets boring. I'm treading water, waiting for something to happen. For my patience I get an information dump. Why that information wasn't shared earlier is only to save it for the end. Pull any of the threads, and this story develops flaws. I have questions about a lot of things that happened, but it doesn't matter and I don't' really care.