by Vincent Abbatecola, Contributing Writer
I picked up A.J. Finn’s 2018 novel, “The Woman in the Window,” when I learned that it was going to be adapted into a movie. Even though the inside cover described what seemed like a typical psychological thriller, I was still enticed to give it a try, knowing that acclaimed filmmaker Joe Wright would be directing and Amy Adams would be playing the lead role. While the novel wasn’t anything groundbreaking, it was still an entertaining book that had the potential to turn out a decent movie, given the talent that was attached. However, it wasn’t enough, and we’re left with a movie that omits the thrills from the source material.
Anna Fox (Adams) is a child psychologist who, due to her agoraphobia, has a fear of going outside. Without much going on in her life, she spends her days drinking wine, taking prescription drugs, and watching the people on her street. When Anna witnesses something disturbing in the home of her new neighbors, she has to figure out if what she saw was real, or if it was all in her head.
Sadly, this movie is one of those instances where we have a good lead performance that’s stuck in a bad movie. Adams does well in displaying her character’s crippling fear of the outside and her weakness for numbing her psychological pain with alcohol and pills, and whatever investment you may have in this movie all comes down to Adams’ committed work.
Despite the movie having a talented supporting cast, most of the ensemble is given very little to do. There’s a lack of depth for everyone involved, even for the one or two characters who have a little more to do than the others. With a cast that includes Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Brian Tyree Henry, Julianne Moore, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, it’s a shame that the movie doesn’t use their talents to help make this movie more compelling.
Given that this movie went through re-edits after poor test screenings, it’s not difficult to see that this is the main reason why the story suffers. With the accomplished Tracey Letts (who also plays Anna’s therapist) as the screenwriter, there’s little chance that his initial script could have resulted in a bad movie. But, because of the re-edits, we’re given a rushed movie that clocks in at just over 90 minutes, despite being adapted from a book that’s over 400 pages. The version of Anna in the book has more intrigue to her, with the story diving deeper into her previous work as a psychologist, her love of old movies, and the rough patches of her previous married life. The script mostly just gives you the bare bones of A.J. Finn’s novel, resulting in a disposable thriller that has lost much of its dramatic weight in its transition from page to screen.
There isn’t much tension that builds up, so that by the time we get to the final reveal, we don’t feel anything because of how little we get to know many of the characters and for how undeveloped the story is. Just as with Letts’ screenplay likely having potential before the re-edits, I’m sure Wright’s approach to the narrative started out with promise, but missed its chance to be seen in this final version. This is most notable in the last 20 minutes of the film, where the movie devolves into ridiculous trashiness that is sure to elicit some laughs. Although there’s some neat production design by Kevin Thompson and a few standout shots from Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography, it’s not enough to salvage this movie.
In the case of The Woman in the Window, despite the talent on either side of the camera, there’s not much of interest on either side of the window.
Grade: C-
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