An agoraphobic witnesses a murder in the house across the street, but questions her sanity when the alleged victim turns up very much alive.

CRIME/DRAMA

The Woman in the Window (2021)

Directed by Joe Wright

Written by Tracy Letts

Starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Wyatt Russell,
Julianne Moore, Anthony Mackie, Jennifer Jason Leigh,
​Bryan Tyree Henry,Fred Hechinger, Jeanine Serralles

Based on the novel by A.J. Finn

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Connor Eyzaguirre

May 16, 2021

6/10

I find it hilarious that people keep stressing how much this film isn't a remake of Rear Window, when it is so obviously a blatant, unapologetic remake of Rear Window. The Woman in the Window wants so badly to be a relic of classic Hollywood. Clips from 50's movies are constantly shown, as if they're going to elevate this cheap knockoff to higher ground. The only thing this film has going for it is Amy Adams, who gives a committed performance in a sea of paycheck phone-ins. I mean, if you've got Gary Oldman, fucking use him. He's barely in the film, and when he is there, his character is so one-dimensional, as is everyone's.

Adams plays Anne, an agoraphobic with a drinking problem who is separated from her husband (Mackie, also underused). She meets the new neighbors who move in next door and befriends the mom Jane (Moore, underused). Then, she sees Jane get stabbed to death across the street. But when she calls the cops, she's introduced to another Jane (Leigh, underused), who is alive. Anne now questions everything, and nobody believes her. Her tenant, David (Russell) thinks she's nuts, but also gives off a ton of red flags, most of which are unprompted in this lazy screenplay. When we find out what happened, the film turns into an action thriller. The tone is all over the place.

This film was doomed from the start. Considering how fervently they kept denying it was a Rear Window remake (which pops up on a big flat screen towards the beginning), it's like the film itself is in denial. To me, it's another example of producers graverobbing the classics and hoping we don't notice. This film never makes good use of its ensemble, and trades genuine character growth for cheap thrills. What a letdown.