Last August, Netflix picked up the problematic “Woman in the Window” away from Disney for a possible 2021 streaming debut.
Director Joe Wright’s “Woman in the Window,” a thriller starring Amy Adams and an adaptation of Dan Mallory’s bestselling novel of the same name, had its fall release delayed until 2020 by Disney (who now own the movie after their Fox purchase) and then set for May 2021 by Netflix. According to THR, the reason for the delay was that the movie was going back into production for reshoots due to, get this, the third act needing more clarification. THR stated that the movie left test-screening audiences “confused” and that Disney was worried about releasing it as it was.
Fox 2000 president Elizabeth Gabler is quoted, “We’re dealing with a complex novel. We tested the movie really early for that very reason. We wanted to make it better, and we’ve had Disney’s full support in doing that.”
In late 2019 I had heard some test-screening rumblings, through people who had emailed me, that Wright’s movie was just not very good. It wasn’t even a question of the ending being “confusing” as much as the entire movie being a total bomb. They did significantly edit and reshoot the film since then, but my hopes aren’t high for this one.
The film was being set up as the next “Girl on the Train”/“Gone Girl” thriller, which could have major crossover appeal, but the behind-the-scenes issues in post-production, not to mention the disastrous test screenings, have completely hampered buzz and now Netflix just seems like a better fit to dump it in its endless library of films.
In “The Woman in the Window,” a psychological suspense thriller directed by Joe Wright, an agoraphobic child psychologist befriends a neighbor across the street from her New York City brownstone, only to see her own life turned upside down when the woman disappears and she suspects foul play. A stellar ensemble cast brings Tracy Letts’ screenplay based on the gripping, best-selling novel to life, where shocking secrets are revealed, and no one—and nothing—is what it seems.
The toxic word of mouth is a real shame since the cast assembled for “The Woman in the Window” is a collection of staggering talents; Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Mackie, and Wyatt Russell.
The Woman in the Window” will stream on Netflix on May 14th. Check out the latest trailer for the film below.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.