Netflix’s latest mystery drama ‘The Woman in the Window’ is an adaptation of a 2018 novel of the same name, written by A.J. Finn. With many twists and turns, the movie manages to keep the audience engaged till the final reveal.
Anna Fox (Amy Adams) is a child psychologist suffering from Agoraphobia, the fear of spaces and social situations. Confined to her dark and moody house, she lives off on alcohol, her pills, and vintage movies. Her tenant David (Wyatt Russell) lives downstairs of her house. She stays in touch with her husband Ed (Anthony Mackie) and her daughter Olivia (Mariah Bozeman) even after they have separated.
The moving of Russell family in her neighbourhood acts as an inciting incident for the mysterious events that follow. With curiosity, Anna makes it a habit to peek into the Russells from her window, observing what they are doing.
She soon interacts with them one by one. Ethan (Fred Hechinger), the son of Alistair and Jane Russell seems to be a troubled kid in need of help. Jane comes up as a helpful woman as she takes care of Anna when she feels troubled during Halloween. Alistair (Gary Oldman), however, seems to be a controlling father.
Anna’s curiosity turns into an obsession, which leads her to witness a brutal crime taking place in Russells house. She notices Jane being stabbed with a knife and assumes Alistair to be the murderer.
But on the arrival of police, including Detective Little (Brian Tyree Henry) and Norelli (Jeanine Serralles), Russells deny any such attack taking place as another woman claims to be Jane. The police also reject Anna’s story that the women claiming to be Jane is not the same woman she met earlier
This incident leaves us lingering with too many questions. Who is the real Jane Russel? Was the murder she just witnessed ever happened?
The Women In The Window explained in detail:
The curious case of Pamela Nazin
Anna continues to keep her eye on the Russells. She even tries to do further investigation on Alistair and finds out some interesting information. Before the Russells moved to Manhattan, Alistair worked as Managing Director at the Atkinson Group in Boston.
Pamela Nazin, an executive assistant to Alistair died after falling from the six floors as per the authorities, shortly after which the Russells moved to the neighbourhood in Manhattan.
This makes her more suspicious of Alistair’s involvement in the mystery of Jane’s murder.
Facing the past
Anna finds Jane’s earring in David’s room and discovers that he is in violation for getting involved in a bar fight. She also receives an anonymous email containing a picture of her sleeping and decides to call the police again.
When Anna can’t figure out the truth, Detective Norelli reveals the tragic past to her. Anna’s husband and her daughter died in a car accident while she was driving the car. This incident eventually triggered her trauma.
They deduce that the conversations she had with her husband and daughter are imaginary. The murder she witnessed might be caused due to the hallucinations from the medications she has been taking. Also, she might have taken her own picture and have sent it to herself due to these hallucinations.
The Final Revelation
When it seems that all the mystery has been solved, Anna finds in her phone a picture of a wine glass with Jane’s reflection on it.
When she shows this proof to David, he reveals that the girl in the picture is Katie (Julian Moore), Ethan’s biological mother. She left when she was 8 months pregnant and Alistair tracked her 2 years later in a meth commune in Oregon.
He took Ethan with him while Katie was sent to prison. Alistair got married to Jane (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and they hid themselves from Katie. Despite Alistair paying her to stay away, she found them in the neighbourhood. David also informs her that Katie stayed with him for a night and that earring belongs to her.
When David is about to leave, Anna hears a strange noise and then Ethan appears with a knife after killing David. He is revealed to a psychopath who likes killing people, with his first victim being Pamela Nazin.
He was the one sneaking into her house and taking her pictures. He discloses that he killed Katie as she failed to take care of her family. He believes Anna failed to do the job of protecting her family as well. He then tries to kill Anna, but she manages to push him through the skylight, resulting in his death.
In the end, Detective Little informs Anna that Katie’s body has been found and Russells have been taken in custody. Anna leaves her old house and slowly starts to win over her fear and trauma.
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