Rear Window: Lockdown Edition

 

“Rear Window: Lockdown Edition”

Amy Adams as Jimmy Stewart

A Review of The Woman in the Window by Nick Olszyk

 

Distribution Service: Netflix

MPAA Rating, R

CNS Rating, NR

Reel Rating, Four Reels            

 

            It is hard to make a compelling movie that is so similar to a previous one but even harder when that entry is a classic. The Woman in the Window is essentially a retelling of Rear Window with a few added twists, and it is aware of the comparison. Rather than parody the issue or avoid it entirely, director Joe Wright plays brilliantly with the audience’s expectations to make an entertaining and thoughtful thriller that stands well in its own right, although it probably won’t be as beloved as its spiritual father.

            Dr. Anna Fox (Amy Adams) is an agoraphobic child psychologist who never leaves her house. Separated from her husband and daughter she spends her days and nights watching television, talking to a therapist, spying on the neighbors, and just overall feeling sorry for herself. One afternoon, a new family moves in across the street, and the mother Jane (Julianne Moore) comes over to introduce herself. The two talk for several hours about everything under the sun; it’s the most human contact she’s had in years and clearly has a positive effect. This makes it more tragic when she witnesses Jane being stabbed through her window the very next day. When Dt. Little (Brian Jenry) interviews Anna, he brings the entire family over – including a woman who claims to be Jane Russell but looks nothing like the woman Anna conversed with several days prior. “You never met my wife,” Mr. Russel (Gary Oldman) insists. Maybe she hasn’t, or is there more at play?

            The Woman in the Window is a master class in cinematic entertainment. Every element works in perfect harmony to keep the audience constantly on the edges of its seat. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, most famous for his collaboration with French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, loves to play with frame, keeping important images hidden until preciously needed and blending reality with imagination using color to highlight Anna’s fragile mental state. Composer Danny Elfman, master of the mysterious, evokes the classic scores of Hitchcock while never feeling like a cheap imitation. Director Joe Wright never goes for the easy jump scare but lets the plot unfold organically, allowing the horror to come from genuine human evil. Like a Yankees/Red Sox game, it is a joy to watch “master craftsmen play their trade.”

            From the first scene, Anna cannot be trusted. Not only is she clearly mentally ill but an alcoholic who constantly downs her various medications with copious amounts of wine against the advisement of her doctor. The audience can never be completely sure she, and thus we, are perceiving reality correctly. Yet this is true for even the sanest; none of us have the full picture. This is why the Church has always insisted that mortal sins can only be committed with “full knowledge and consent” (CCC 1857). While Anna’s judgement is compromised, as a psychologist herself, she is acutely aware of her irrationality. To her credit, when new information is presented that conflicts her inferences, she changes her outlook to fit the evidence. Thus, the audience may not be able to trust what she experiences, but they can trust her desire to see justice done, which makes for an absolutely thrilling narrative.  It is rare to see a film that acutely understands this struggle that millions face every day.

            The film plays not just with the role mental illness has in perception of reality but evil as well. When Anna finally confronts the antagonist, her first instinct is to help this poor soul in need of therapeutic assistance. Yet, she soon realizes that, independent of his mental state, he has freely chosen to embrace his selfish desires and no amount of couch sitting will help. She then turns on a dime and becomes a fierce warrior for both her own safety and others. This decision to set aside psychology and simply act becomes the catalyst for her own recovery, and by the end is walking outside with ease. Freedom does not come from the mind but the heart.

            The Woman in the Window was originally set to release theatrically in 2019 but in an ironic twist of fate became locked in like its protagonist due to the government shutdowns. It has come right as many of us have been permitted to return outside to our normal lives ourselves and feels like a breath of fresh air. Hopefully, like Anna, we can use this experience to appreciate the freedom God gives and work diligently against those who, like the killer, would take it away.