FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Woman in the Window
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Joe Wright
Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

What It Is: Anna Fox (Adams) is an agoraphobic. She gets so anxious she can’t even leave the house. Her new neighbors the Russells have just moved in across the street. One night Anna believes she saw Mr. Russell (Oldman) murder his wife Jane (Julianne Moore). When it comes up that perhaps a murder has been committed the police don’t believe her. And apparently, Mrs. Russell (Jennifer Jason Leigh) isn’t dead at all. Causing massive problems for the lonely shut-in.

What We Think: How do you screw this up this badly with a cast containing SO MUCH talent. Not only is it an absolute bore but Amy Adams could’ve filmed a vacation somewhere and it would’ve been a better piece and probably twice as interesting. I won’t spoil the ending but I will say that the ending is terrible. Not only that but everything leading up to that ending feels cheap. Feels manipulative of those that have been through what Anna has been through. This equates to sifting through garbage and understanding that there’s possible gold in it. That gold is of course an Amy Adams performance but the trash covering it is far too much to warrant the stay here. Couple this with her last Netflix venture Hillbilly Elegy and it’s a double dose of bad.

Our Grade: D-, This is without any doubt in my mind one of 2021’s worst films. It commits several sins including wasting a wonderful cast. The material this is based on is not something I’m familiar with, but I’m going to assume that the book it’s based on is so much better. I love Tracy Letts as an actor but his script here is unfathomably bad. I cannot recommend this film at all. It’s just…not good.