Streaming Sunday features TV series or movies adapted from books I’ve read, offered on at least one streaming service and I’ve watched.
The Woman in the Window is a film adaptation of the book of the same name by A. J. Finn. It’s a psychological thriller about a woman who suffers from agoraphobia, brought on by anxiety from a traumatic event approximately a year earlier. She lives in her Harlem home with little contact outside of it except for her online community. But, she also keeps track of her neighbors from her window and one night she witnesses something disturbing.
The movie Rear Window is one of my all time favorites (this movie poster is on my TV room wall!) and its themes are a foundation for this one. However, that’s where the similarity ends. I listened to the book, magnificently narrated by Ann Marie Lee, and it was a 13-hour plus good time!
When I learned the book was being adapted for film, I couldn’t have been more excited as it is ideal for screen with its twistiness and delicious surprises. It stars Amy Adams, who I thought would be great. It was originally scheduled to be released by 20th Century Fox in October 2019 but was delayed to May 2020 due to re-editing brought about by poor test screenings. It was further delayed because of the pandemic so the rights were sold to Netflix. It was released on the streaming platform in May 2021. The movie was directed by Joe Wright and the screenwriter responsible for the adaptation was Tracy Letts.
I was so excited to be able to watch the film on Netflix in the height of the pandemic. But, the film bore little resemblance to the brilliant novel that had kept me riveted. The actors did their best with what was handed to them as it was a stellar cast and I had no quibble with their performances. In my humble opinion, the director made a mess of it by choosing to opt for the eerie, gothic creepiness of the setting, which wasn’t a factor in the story, instead of focusing on the characterizations. Critics blasted the film, also placing the blame squarely at the director’s feet and providing praise to some of the performances.
If you’ve read the book, you’ll probably feel the same way about the film. If you haven’t read the book, you might enjoy the film for all that spookiness augmented with some strong acting performances by a great cast. If you’ve read the book and don’t remember it, you might find the film interesting, too. It’s not a waste of time, just not the movie it could have been with actors like Amy, Julianna Moore, Gary Oldman and Anthony Mackie participating.
It continues to stream on Netflix. Check it out.
Blue Mood Café 
Interesting how the book and film can be so different Jo! I haven’t read the book or watched the film,mostly because I was put off by an article about the author being a very suspicious person. He faked serious illness on numerous occasions and lied about his professional life. It really put me off the book and him as a person, and still does actually.
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Ooh! Now I’m remembering all that flack about him, which I discovered after reading the book. Don’t blame you, Nicki💜
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As much as I love to read Psychological Thrillers, I rarely watch them. Thank you for pointing one’s that are worth a watch! I’ll have to put this one on my Netflix list ❤️
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Tessa, I pay a lot of attention to screenwriters and directors these days. However, I didn’t know anything about these two but the big name cast and producer made me think this would be “the one.” With that said, I think you might find this at least entertaining. The twists alone are worth it.
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This is a brilliant meme Jonetta! Thanks for sharing your impressions. I don’t watch the tv/movie versions often but I could.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
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Thank you, Anne💜 I’m really glad you’re enjoying the posts!
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I saw the movie and now you’ve got me interested in reading the book! I’m betting I will agree with you and like the book better – I usually like books better than the movie.
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Oh, Julie, if you liked the movie you’d love the book! I, however, can never read the book after seeing the film.
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Great review Jonetta! I wasn’t really a fan of this one but I agree that the performances were solid. I think I’ll give the book a chance since you liked it so much. Have you gotten a chance to check out The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window starring Kristen Bell on Netflix? It kind of pokes fun at this film and some other similar ones. I highly recommend it!
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Thank you, Amy💜 You’ll love the book.
I have Bell’s series on y list to watch so thanks for the reminder. I thinks she’s very, very funny.
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That’s such a bummer that the film doesn’t do the book justice. That’s one of my favorite thrillers so I hadn’t watched yet because of the mixed reviews. I’ll probably skip it at this point.
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That book should have been a slam dunk success on film. It was clearly a director misstep.
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I read the book and enjoyed the twists and main character. I get really frustrated if the book is drastically different. I will pass on this one.
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Well, the script was still similar but the presentation made the Amy Adams character come across as crazy instead of traumatized. All that spookiness in the house was such a misdirect.
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