🎵 How much is that woman in the window? The one with the waggly tail 🎵 See, this is a moment where me, being on video, would be supreme over simply writing. I’m a writer though; got to work with what you’ve got.
I’m surprised by this – I’m sure The Woman in the Window was slated to come out in cinemas. I’m certain I saw the movie’s poster in my local cinema’s halls last year. It seems like a movie made to parallel movies like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and A Simple Favour; popcorn mysteries if ever I saw them. I guess The Woman in the Window is another movie displaced by the COVID shuffle, and may prove another great catch by the Netflix team. So, I’ll do what I do; I’ll get my snacks ready and set up my own damn theatre in the privacy of my own home, ready to welcome Amy Adams inside; ‘Hello Ms Adams, what seems to be the problem…’
Well, it’s ironic that I’ve just made light of watching this movie indoors when Amy Adam’s character has agoraphobia. Not only that, The Woman in the Window has housebound Dr. Anna Fox (Amy Adams) witness a murder in the neighbouring house across the street, under her usual nightly influence of prescription pills and heavy alcohol. The people in her surrounding life are sceptical and even unwilling to believe her, including Anna’s live-in basement tenant David (Wyatt Russell), and her divorced husband elsewhere, whom she can reach by phone, Edward (Anthony Mackie). Anna is going to have to investigate herself; luckily, she’s already befriended the neighbour’s young son Ethan (Fred Hechinger), and had encounters with the patriarch of the family, Alistair (Gary Oldman), who is quick to anger, making him Anne’s prime suspect.
I had a quick squizz at the Rotten Tomatoes score after finishing The Woman in the Window, and I don’t always like to do that until after I’ve written down my own collected thoughts; but it led me to investigate further because I was startled to see such a low score. I seem to recall a disconnect between my rating and those of professionals for The Girl on the Train too; another similar movie that I enjoyed quite a lot. What do they want? I think the critics are going to point to the presentation of the film – The Woman in the Window feels like a lowly prestigious midday movie in score, especially at the beginning and at the end, and when you see that it’s Danny Elfman who’s behind it, you pinch your nose and wince in confusion. Critics sited stilted dialogue too, and they’re not wrong, but if you’re looking at dialogue in terms of how it enhances this pulpy story, then I don’t think it gets in the way. I’ve also written many reviews before where I’ve said, ‘I saw the twist coming, so I wasn’t surprised’ and if that’s the case for some people out there then I can understand why The Woman in the Window didn’t work for them. I personally (heavy spoilers), thought that Ethan could have been the murderer, but he was one of the many equally possible suspects, including David and Alistair. Then again, I guess when someone sees a picture of your loved ones on the fridge and refers to them as your ‘people’ instead of your family, then, ‘alarm bells’ – this isn’t a guy who values human connection; Ethan.
Further plot-wise, it was likely that Anna was going to be delusional, as well as on to something bigger. I didn’t even contemplate that her family would be dead, as it wasn’t a direct concern to me, regarding the mystery surrounding the death across the street. I shouldn’t have been surprised though, since the visions of whirling snow we see throughout the early part of the movie had to connect with something, and there’s nothing like a horrid car crash to destroy your world. The way that it was revealed though, with chaotic Anna shrinking back into her living room, and with the lighting dimming, simulating that she’s all alone; how can that do anything but elevate praise on the director’s decision-making. That was damn poetic. And then the car appears in her living room, like some Shutter Island shit – a technique to blend the past with the present that has become increasingly common in the past ten years, but I’m not tired of seeing it yet. No, yes, I’ve got my football helmet on, and I’m going in to contest this movie hard, because I had a really enjoyable time.
As briefly as she is on screen, Julianne Moore is so perfect, capturing the exact balance of care and conceitedness in her introductory scene to help you understand why Anna latches on to her. I don’t know if Gary Oldman was the correct casting choice for his part though, as dare I suggest the dreaded phrase that the veteran actor is ‘phoning it in’. Oldman’s is a relatively small part, that I don’t think nabbing a name like Oldman wasn’t all that important anyway, and the role could have gone to anyone. But I suppose, if Oldman is available and willing, then you’re not going to say no. As for small parts for talented people, Jennifer Jason Leigh has even less to do. Was her character meant to do more? Does she have a bigger part to play in the book, and were scenes with her shot and cut for time? I wonder. But Amy Adams is Amy Adams; ever reliable as a damaged woman, all the way from Nocturnal Animals, to Sharp Objects, to last year’s Hillbilly Elegy. She eats unhinged and depressive characters for breakfast.
I guess when I rate a movie, it’s as much about how I enjoyed the movie, as it is a comment on the movie’s quality. Some movies have a pristine shine, but can turn me off with their substance, and visa-versa. Obviously, a hotdog is not fine dining, and trashy beach novels aren’t meant to win Neustadts, but on the right occasion, quality does not necessarily equate to the perfect experience. Wow, I’m working hard to defend this movie when I simply found it to be a straight-forward murder mystery that I found mysteriously enjoyable. Framing it alongside footage from old movies in early scenes helped me get into the mindset of homage to a simpler era in storytelling too. Nuff said. But I will also say… nah, nothing for now. What did you think of The Woman in the Window?
3.5
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