Netflix's The Woman in the Window is another intriguing mystery story based on a best-selling crime novel. Like many movies in this genre, a lot of the fun comes from viewers trying to outsmart the characters in the story and solve the mystery first.
When it comes to the characters in The Woman in the Window, there is a bit of a mix in terms of intelligence. Some of these people make bafflingly bad decisions and others seem to be one step ahead of the rest and able to see the truth of what is going on.
Warning: Spoilers for Woman in the Window below.
10 Jane Russell 2
Though Anna Fox (Amy Adams) thought she saw her neighbor murdered, the real Jane Russell (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is introduced to make Anna's story seem fictional. In that way, Jane Russell is more of a plot device than an actual character.
When the truth comes out that Jane is really Alistair Russell's wife but not Ethan's birth mother, her motivations become very confusing. She just allowed herself to be a pawn in her husband's cover-up of several murders without ever seeming to make a decision for herself.
9 Detective Norelli
In stories like this, in order for the hero to figure the crime out on their own, there need to be detective characters like Norelli (Jeanine Serralles) who are completely incompetent at their job. She arrives to investigate Anna's claims of witnessing a murder and inexplicably goes into "bad cop" mode.
The confrontational way Norelli deals with Anna and her story seems totally unnecessary. It is as if she arrived at a wrong conclusion immediately about what happened and refused to listen to any of the facts or evidence that disputes that.
8 Detective Little
Though Detective Little (Brian Tyree Henry) is not as hostile as his partner Norelli, he is every bit as useless as her when it comes to detective work. To be fair, there are some very good reasons for him to doubt Anna's story, but he also accepts that it was all in her head far too easily.
If someone had claimed to witness a murder, one would expect a good cop would at least look into the matter a little closer. Had Little asked just a few obvious questions and clarified some points, the truth would have revealed itself. In the end, he openly admits to botching the case and it's hard to argue with him.
7 Ethan Russell
The mystery of the movie hinges on the character of Ethan Russell (Fred Hechinger) and sadly he doesn't work very well. The movie seems to want Ethan to come off as a chilling villain in the climax of the movie, but that transformation never really works.
The reveal that Ethan is the killer comes with a long villain monologue to explain how this is possible, which never makes a bad guy look smart. And while Ethan seems ready to take credit for being the mastermind of it all, the only reasons he wasn't caught were dumb luck and his father.
6 Ed
Though Ed (Anthony Mackie) is often heard on the other end of the phone with Anna, it is revealed that he had died before the events of the movie and those conversations weren't real. Therefore, there is only one scene in which Ed really appears.
The flashback shows the tension in the relationship between Ed and Anna. While his anger at her is understandable, his rationale isn't as clear. He feels it is pointless to hide the truth of what is happening from their daughter, but his decision to fight with Anna right in front of their child is not so smart. It is especially a bad idea to do while driving on an icy road at night.
5 Katie (Jane Russell 1)
The woman Anna thought was Jane Russell is eventually revealed to be Katie (Julianne Moore), Ethan's real mother. Though she is very integral to the plot, she only has one scene to establish herself. This makes it a little hard to gauge her as a character.
There is a bit of randomness to Katie which initially seems like some sort of strategy but ends up meaning nothing. She is coy and secretive when speaking with Anna, but then she tells her entire story to David later on. This doesn't make her seem intelligent or unintelligent, but rather just chaotic.
4 Alistair Russell
Alistair Russell (Gary Oldman) seems to be the only character in this story who actually has a plan. While Ethan sees himself as the brilliant and calculating killer, it is really just his dad who cleans up after all of his messes.
He does a fairly good job of making Anna seem like she made the whole thing up and even tries to warn her to stay away from his son. He is obviously still a bad guy who is protecting his very dangerous son, but he does seem to have a better handle on the situation than others.
3 David
As Anna's downstairs tenant, David (Wyatt Russell) is another person who just happens to get mixed up in this complicated mess of a situation. But whereas Anna keeps searching for the truth and finding out what happened to Jane Russell, David tries to distance himself from it all.
While it might not be morally upstanding, it's hard not to see David's approach as the smarter move. He is just someone who wants to mind his own business and not get wrapped up in a murder investigation.
2 Dr. Landy
As Anna deals with her own personal issues, her psychiatrist Dr. Landy (Tracy Letts) is the only person she talks openly with. At first, Landy seems like a bit of an aggressive psychiatrist, challenging Anna and how she is handling her own health.
But by the end of the movie, it is clear Landy is actually quite a good psychiatrist. He may have been tough with Anna, but it seemed like a push she needed and ultimately appreciated. He might not have an active role in the story, but he is probably the most helpful character.
1 Anna Fox
As with many psychological thrillers, Anna Fox is a protagonist whose perception of reality may not be entirely trustworthy. With the audience seeing the events through her eyes, it is established that she gets confused at times and is dealing with some very painful trauma.
But even when the doubt arises as to what Anna really saw, in the back of her mind, she knew she was right the whole time. She has several people who know the truth working against her, but she manages to see past their lies and prove herself right.
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