The Woman in the Window

   

   A waste of fine actors, this new "thriller" is poor imitation Alfred Hitchcock.

   The film stars Amy Adams as an agoraphobic , unable to leave her brownstone. One night she believes she witnesses a murder in the house directly across the street. From there it becomes a physiological mess. Did she, or didn't she? Is her tenant in the basement unstable? What are the neighbors hiding, if anything? How many pills and red wine can Ms. Adams consume without throwing up or passing out. What is the cat hiding?

   The dialogue and acting are strangely stunted and the film moves like a stage play, rather than a film. Director Joe Wright can only do so much with the material and borrows multiple ideas from much better films. The set up in the first 30 minutes is ridiculous and while there is some suspense in the final act, it's not enough to improve upon the plot.

   Besides Ms. Adams, who tries her best, the film co-stars Julianne Moore, Wyatt Russell, Jenifer Jason Leigh, Fred Heckinger, Brian Tyree Henry, Anthony Mackie and Gary Oldman. It's a quality cast stuck in clunker of a film. The screenplay is by Tracy Letts, who also has a small part as Ms. Adam's physiologist. It's far from his best work. 

   The film is available on Netflix but my advice is don't bother opening this window.