‘The Woman In The Window’ Review

Some viewers might have to do a double-take when they see the 2021 psychological-thriller ‘The Woman In The Window’ starring Amy Adams, because they may not recognize her as the actor who plays Lois Lane in the Superman universe. Adams is Anna Fox in this 2021 flick, a middle-aged frazzled woman who suffers from Agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that makes people fearful of leaving their homes or entering certain places. But it’s clear from the beginning that Anna’s disorder is perhaps new, because she herself is a child-psychologist and seems to have been recently separated from her husband and has a young daughter. Anna spies on her neighbors when she is free and things take a turn when she witnesses the murder of Mrs Russell. But when the cops turn up for their investigation, turns out Mrs Russell is very much alive. So who did Anna see being killed? Or did she even actually see someone being killed? That forms the rest of the mystery, including a traumatic incident in Anna’s own past that leads to her mental-health issues.

Amy Adams is quite brilliant as the mentally fragile Anna Fox; she looks tired, exhausted and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The viewer is perhaps left wanting a little more of Julianne Moore, who has a very small cameo as Mrs Russell, the woman who is murdered. Gary Oldman as the abusive Mr Russell and Fred Hechinger as his teen son Ethan Russell however felt jarring in their roles.

Despite being largely shot in just one place (Anna’s home), the movie is visually interesting, with the house becoming a character in itself. After a slow start, the plot picks steam after the murder. Anna attempts to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together, even as she struggles hard to keep her nerves intact. Just like everybody around her, the viewer begins to question her sanity too.

Things soon escalate, every little anomaly gets a decent explanation and there is a neat little twist in the end, which might begin to feel like a weak fictional exaggeration if one begins to rationalize the facts closely. The ending was almost satisfying, almost, because after a whole lot of nothing, one finally gets to see some action. The movie heavily relies on Adams, because the script is not on the stronger side. Viewers looking for a fast-paced intelligent thriller will be left disappointed.

Watch ‘Woman In The Window’ if you are looking for a psychological thriller. It’s a 6/10 from me.