'The Woman In The Window', Starring Amy Adams, Likely Heading Straight To Netflix
Remember The Woman in the Window, the Rear Window knock-off from director Joe Wright starring Amy Adams? The best-seller adaptation was originally supposed to open back in October 2019 but got delayed for reshoots following negative test audience reactions. The new release date was supposed to be in May of this year, but the coronavirus ended up causing yet another delay. Now, it looks like the thriller will be skipping theaters entirely and going straight to Netflix.
The Woman in the Window
The Woman in the Window was a big bestseller; the type of beach read thriller that cashed-in on the popularity of titles like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train and therefore destined for the big screen. Sure enough, Hollywood came calling, bringing in director Joe Wright, screenwriter Tracy Letts, and a surprisingly strong cast that included Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Julianne Moore. Despite that pedigree, The Woman in the Window has had a bumpy ride.
The thriller was originally set to open on October 4, 2019, but after a poor test audience reaction, reshoots were planned and a new release date – May 15, 2020 – was announced. The coronavirus ended up delaying it yet again, and now it looks like the film is going to skip the big screen entirely. Deadline reports that Netflix is "finalizing an acquisition deal that will move The Woman in the Window out of Disney-owned 20th Century Studios and into a new window, as a global Netflix event film."
The film is an adaptation of a novel by A.J. Finn, the pen name of Dan Mallory, who fell under scrutiny after a New Yorker article revealed he had a long history of embellishing his past. Deadline adds that the expose "has nothing to do with this change of venue," so make of that what you will. In The Woman in the Window, "An agoraphobic 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."
I'll be blunt: I haven't read The Woman in the Window book, but I thought the film's trailer (which you can watch above) was not much to write home about. I'm a big Amy Adams fan, and I have no doubt she'll do her best with this material. But I can't say I was exactly eager to head off to the theater to see this thing. However, bringing the movie directly to Netflix is a whole other story. I'm more than happy to watch this sort of pic from the comfort of my own home, and it seems like everyone involved with the movie at this point feels the same way.
There's no word on when The Woman in the Window will hit Netflix, but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up seeing it there before the end of this year.