 |
| Review: The Woman In The Window |
Review: The Woman In The Window. First of all, you are not wrong if you feel so familiar with the title The Woman in the Window. This movie has actually completed the production process at the end of 2018 with a release schedule at the end of 2019.
However, a number of changes continued to delay the release of this Joe Wright-directed movie (Darkest Hour, 2017). Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, which is the new owner of the 20th Century Fox production house that produced the movie, were reportedly dissatisfied with the movies final result and requested a number of reshoots.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who initially served as the movies music director, also chose not to continue their performance, which was later replaced by composer Danny Elfman. And, of course, the coronavirus pandemic has also thwarted plans for the release of a new The Woman in the Window in early 2020.
Review: The Woman In The Window Movie (2021)
After delay after delay, coupled with the ongoing pandemic, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures subsequently chose to sell the movies release rights to Netflix, which then released it in early 2021 – two years from the movies initial release date in cinema.
Synopsis of the movie and my review
With a script written by Tracy Letts (August: Osage County, 2013) based on the novel of the same name written by AJ Finn, The Woman in the Window.
The Women in the Window tells the story of a child psychologist named Anna Fox (Amy Adams) who has spent almost the last year confined to her own home due to the anxiety disorder agoraphobia – the fear or anxiety of being in open spaces – she suffers.
 |
| Review: The Woman In The Window |
With this condition, Anna Fox spends her daily life watching Hollywood classics, learning French, observing her surroundings, and drinking her favorite alcoholic drink – which often leaves her unconscious.
When a family, Alistair Russell (Gary Oldman), Jane Russell (Julianne Moore), and Ethan Russell (Fred Hechinger), move into the house across from hers, Anna Fox feels like she's found a new object that catches her eye.
Unfortunately, her curiosity actually ensnared her when she became an eye witness to a murder that occurred at home which slowly began to make her life even more messy.
It's no exaggeration if some viewers think The Woman in the Window is in the same storytelling universe as The Girl on the Train (Tate Taylor, 2016).
In addition to the story which is both adapted from a novel, and the structure of the story which also carries the same storyline as the mystery story directed by Alfred Hitchcock – The Woman in the Window will clearly remind many viewers of Rear Window (1954).
The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window also present almost the same premise about a female character with a penchant for drinking alcohol who later becomes a witness to a crime.
Another similarity? Despite having a movie narrative atmosphere like the movies that invite a million question marks directed by Hitchcock, both Taylor and Wright also feel like executing their movies as David Fincher manages conflicts and characters in his mystery films – not a bad thing, of course.
However, like The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window does not get strong enough story quality support to make it appear prime.
With a story duration of (only) 100 minutes, The Woman in the Window, unfortunately, spends too much time building the foundations of a number of mysteries and conflicts in the storyline.
This is what makes this movie feel rushed in unraveling a number of mysteries – and a number of twists and turns – from the middle to the end of the story.
Letts and Wright may choose this path so that the audience can explore the main character's thoughts in dealing with a number of questions he faces.
At the same time, the excessive focus on mystery and conflict in the early half of the movie provides an obstacle for a number of conflicts and characters to develop more maturely.
The arrangement of the story in this movie also presents a number of questions to several characters and conflict buildings that appear but do not get an in-depth exploration of the story.
For example: the Russell family never gets the attention of the story as a whole, Jennifer Jason Leigh almost stands still throughout the movies presentation, David Winter's character played by Wyatt Russell feels presented with an incomplete story.
More Cool Stuff: Review: Nomadland
And most fatally, this movie even leaves it that way. story elements about agoraphobia disorder experienced by the main character and make it feel used for story plot equipment that is only used at certain times.
Wright directs the movie to be enjoyed like a puzzle but leaves many pieces of the story that make this movie feel not really finished in its entirety.
Conclusion
Apart from a number of weaknesses in the management of the story script, Wright was quite successful in packaging The Woman in the Window so as not to fall into the presentation of a boring story.
The intrigue storyline combined with the artistic setting that will give the impression of a classic mystery movie will at least be able to keep the audience's attention to continue to open the mystery layer of this movies story.
In terms of acting, Wright also managed to collect the best acting performances to bring the character plot to life in the movies storyline. Although not her best acting performance, Adams still managed to appear convincing.
So did Oldman and Russell. The strongest acting performance in The Woman in the Window actually came from the appearance of Moore, Hechinger, and Brian Tyree Henry. The appearance in the characters is actually minimalistic but is able to steal the attention in every presence.
0 comments