Movie Review: The Woman in the Window

Being a "serious" actor, writer or director can be quite the albatross in the realm of entertainment. Once your name becomes associated with widespread acclaim, high profile awards, etc., people begin to expect excellence out of you every single time you make or appear in something and the pressure that comes from being perceived as someone who has to deliver the goods with a 100% efficiency rate seems like it would drain some of the fun out of the process. The Woman in the Window is what happens when a bunch of these people choose to let their hair down and have some fun for a bit before they return to their normal roles as esteemed creatives.

As strange as it is to see people like period piece savant Joe Wright (Darkest Hour, Atonement), dual threat Broadway icon Tracy Letts and 8 zillion time Oscar nominee Amy Adams be the driving forces  behind a project that is primarily designed to be a sleazy mindfuck, it's pretty cool to see this much fawned-over talent being placed in a space they don't usually occupy. That's not to say that The Woman in Window has no room for flourishes of traditional cinematic proficiency-Adams is terrific as the titular anxiety-ridden, substance-abusing agoraphobic woman who is desperately trying to convince people that she saw her neighbor (Julianne Moore) get murdered and the eerie cinematography from Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis, Across the Universe) does an exceptional job of establishing a sense of paranoia-induced claustrophobia that brings a haunting tangibility to the fears of Adams' character. It just happens to be the type of movie where getting the audience to constantly question what's real and what's not and cooking up big, implausible plot twists that answer the burning questions driving the central mystery take precedent over pure artistic craftsmanship.

The opportunity to play around in such an undemanding sandbox is something that the key players here seem to have really relished. Through their perfectly synchronized efforts, they've created a trashy world where everybody's got sinister secrets, picture-esque pieces of property and not even an ounce of respect for each other's privacy. Considering that this could've easily turned into a deeper exploration of mental illness and the trauma that can cause it, it's great to see them fulfill their desire to create something that is strictly dedicated to being the type of engrossing diversion that is best consumed with no regard for the trappings of the real world and/or a bottomless supply of the viewer's illicit substance of choice on a lazy weekend afternoon or Friday night. Nobody wants Adams, Letts, Wright or any of the other amazing actors (Moore, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry) that pop into play bit parts of varying importance here to step away from their more prestigious endeavors for long, but low stakes entertainment like The Woman in the Window is certainly a good look for all of them that they should continue to indulge in from time to time.       

Grade: B