The Woman in the Window ★★

Joe Wright

Starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Anthony Mackie, Brian Tyree Henry

Amy Adams stars in this claustrophobic thriller about an agoraphobic woman living in New York, who witnesses a crime after becoming obsessed with spying on her neighbours from her house.

Does this plot sound familiar? The parallels to Rear Window are not only clear, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was verging on a remake of the Hitchcock classic in the opening thirty minutes. Some of the Hitchcock style comes through early on as you learn a little bit more about the street Anna Fox (Adams) is watching. After that though it does veer away from that style as we try and guess what exactly is going on. One thing is for sure, Amy Adams is the best part of this movie; she does a great job and gives the character a truth that invests you in to the story. A surprising turn by Gary Oldman is also welcome even if he is a bit of a side note.

The issue in this movie comes around halfway through when we learn more about what’s actually going on and a little about Anna Fox’s tragic past. From there on in it becomes basic and predictable as it leans on some horror/thriller tropes; you are certainly not left guessing for very long in to the final act. Although this movie felt like a Rear Window remake to start with, it was exciting to see a style we haven’t seen used for a contemporary audience. Unfortunately that style goes from Hitchcock to 2010’s horror in a flash which left it muddled and average by the closing credits.

The Woman in the Window available now on Netflix