The Woman in the Window(2021) is based on the eponymous novel by A.J. Finn. Netflix bought the rights of the film, and released it on May 14, 2021. Since its release, the film has received quite a few unfavourable reviews.

Synopsis:
Anna Fox, an agoraphobic child psychologist, has succumbed to depression and complete isolation, when a new family—The Russells—moves in next door to her. Confined to her house, Anna spies on her neighbours when she suspects something is wrong. However, witnessing Mrs. Russell get stabbed was the last thing she had expected.

Trailer:

The Good:

The Woman in the Windowarouses huge expectations due to itspromising all-star cast. With big industry names including Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Wyatt Russell, Anthony Mackie and others, the film definitely had a great set of actors who gave some amazing performances.

艾米•亚当斯’ portrayal of Anna Fox, a highly agoraphobic woman who has been isolated in her house for ten months, was quite convincing. The lapse of judgement and confusions made her a strong unreliable narrator. In many ways, I found Anna Fox very similar to Rachel Watson ofThe Girl On The Train.
As a stark contrast, Julianne Moore’s character is loud and easy-going. Surprisingly, she befriends Anna very quickly over some alcohol and card games.

The script has astrong build-upand successfullycaptivates the audience. It’s a typicalwhodunnitcrime thriller.

There were a few camera shots which were truly beautiful, and visually, the film can be considered asaesthetically pleasing. Thedark cinematography了完美的theme of the story. The huge and dimly lit mansion of Anna Fox further gave effect to her isolation from the rest of the world.

The Bad:

A.J. Finn’s novel of the same name, was widely celebrated as one of the best thrillers of the year. However, similar to most book-to-screen adaptations, this filmlacked the originalityof the book.

Thesudden sound and visual effectsare added in between the scenes to show the disturbed mental state of the protagonist. However, sometimes they felt too overwhelming and simply distracted me from the plot.

The director, Joe Wright, who is known for box-office hits such asAtonement, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, etc.,failed to deliver a convincing plotin this one.
The Woman in the Windowfelt like a nod to Hitchcock’sRear Window, however it could not achieve the brilliance of the Old Hollywood thriller.

The most crucial part of a thriller movie is the climax, and its execution. Ignorance of even one of these has the potential to make a perfectly good film, a flop.
While the build-up in this film was exciting (albeit sometimes too perplexing),the climax of the movie was lacklustre, and almost on the verge ofpredictable. Concluding with a tedious action sequence, the finale of the film was much below the level of expectations.

判决：

The Woman in the Windowis yet another suspenseful thriller whichcould not live up to the expectationsit set.

Directed By:Joe Wright
Based On:The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Cast:艾米•亚当斯, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Wyatt Russell, Anthony Mackie

The Woman in the Window is available to watch on Netflix.