THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (2021)

Name: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (2021)
Item: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (2021)
Author: Tess Farrand

"Why Don’t You Believe Me?"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW is a new thriller streaming on Netfix. Anna is a child psychologist. Like many of her patients, however, Anna struggles with debilitating anxiety and can’t leave her home. Consequently, Anna and her spouse are separated, and she hasn’t seen her daughter in a while. When a new family moves in across the street, Anna befriends the wife and mother. One night, she sees the husband murder her new friend. The son and the father deny it, however, and the father shows up with a new woman he claims is his wife. Will anyone believe the “crazy” lady in the window?

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW is suspenseful, eerie and well-acted. It has a strong moral worldview. For example, the lead character genuinely desires the best for her neighbors’ wellbeing. There are also a few positive references to prayer and communal prayer. Sadly, though, the movie contains excessive foul language, including several “f” words and three strong profanities. Also, the heroine mixes prescription medication with alcohol. MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW.

Content:

(BB, C, Pa, LLL, VV, S, N, AA, DD, MM):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview where the protagonist genuinely wants the best for her neighbors’ wellbeing, some Christian, redemptive elements such as few positive references to prayer and communal prayer, and a woman wants forgiveness, and some pagan elements where one character acts on their own carnal tendencies and lust

Foul Language:

19 obscenities (including about 10 “f” words) and seven profanities (including three Jesus profanities)

Violence:

Strong violence includes mention of a suicide attempt, a glass shatters when dropped, mention of a school shooting and getting tortured, depicted some stabbing with blood, violent yelling, father slaps his teenage boy across the face, depicted fatal car wreck with blood and broken glass, woman gets dragged downstairs against her will, teenage boy gets hit with a wine bottle across the face, drowning, woman’s face gets slashed with a garden hoe, teenager falls through a glass window

Sex:

No sex scenes, but part of the plot involves adultery

Nudity:

Brief upper male nudity, woman shown in just a bra, and implied nudity of a woman in a bathtub who hears a commotion coming from her new neighbor’s house

Alcohol Use:

Characters drink alcohol, and woman mixes medication with wine

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking, but woman takes medication in many scenes and abuses it with the mixture of alcohol; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Sarcasm about suicide, lying, name-calling, and spying on neighbors.

More Detail:

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW follows an adult woman who’s suffering from debilitating anxiety, won’t leave her house and sees her new friend being stabbed by her husband across the street. Based on a 2018 novel, THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW is very suspenseful, eerie and well-acted, with a strong moral worldview and a few Christian references, but MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for lots of strong foul language, violence and mixing of medication with alcohol.

Anna Fox is a child psychologist. Like many of her patients, Anna struggles with anxiety, especially anxiety that makes her agoraphobic, an anxiety disorder that keeps Anna in her house. Due to her anxiety, Anna and her spouse are separated. Also, Anna hasn’t seen her daughter in a while either. That said, Anna’s therapist and her downstairs tenant, David, seem to have a handle on Anna’s nervous ticks and support her, even though she’s a complete recluse.

One day, Anna meets a teenage boy named Ethan who offers her a candle. Ethan and his two parents are new to the neighborhood. Ethan seems a bit off, but, nonetheless, Anna is kind to him. Ethan’s mother, Jane Russell, is quirky too, so much so that she’s something of a laughingstock. After some mean neighborhood children throw eggs at Jane’s front door, Anna reluctantly opens the door to her. Soon after this, Jane’s spouse and Ethan’s father, Mr. Russell, comes to Anna’s door looking for his family. Anna lies, saying she hasn’t seen them.

A few days later, Anna witnesses what she believes to be Mr. Russell, stabbing Jane Russell from her apartment window. In a frenzy, Anna calls 911, which brings Mr. Russell and Ethan to her apartment. Despite Anna’s assertion that Jane is dead, Mr. Russell asserts, in front of law enforcement, that Anna has never met his wife. Ethan does the same thing, which makes Anna feel like she’s outside her own body and mind. To add to the Russells’ lack of credibility, a different woman claims to be Jane and introduces herself to Anna. while authorities lose faith in Anna’s story.

Anna finds some solace in phone calls with her estranged husband, who gives her peace of mind with her frantic antics. Even so, Anna’s still convinced the Russell family is pulling a fast one on her and the community at large. Will Anna be able to prove herself?

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW is very suspenseful, eerie and entertaining. It mimics the style and themes of similar thrillers like Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic movie REAR WINDOW or the 2007 movie DISTURBIA starring Shia LeBeouf. The cinematography is also stylized, with canted angle shots, bird’s eye shots and similar visual elements that add to the movie’s eerie tone. The musical score plays well with this eerie tone and onscreen action. Led by Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Anthony Mackie, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the movie has a great cast that performs their roles to the letter.

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW has a strong moral worldview where the lead character genuinely desires the best for her neighbors’ wellbeing. There are also a few positive references to prayer and communal prayer. Sadly, though, the movie contains excessive foul language, including about 10 “f” words and three strong profanities. Also, the heroine mixes prescription medication with alcohol. MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW.