Η Γυναίκα της Βιτρίνας

Nakul3.5

Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window despite a meandering story, it's an entertaining and highly engrossing suspense thriller with all of the elements of classic film noir. Edward G. Robinson is as always great here.Unpopular opinion - I liked the ending.

theriverjordan3.0

If you’re Fritz Lang, you’re hardly in need of a rehearsal run in a genre you more or less invented. But if you do take a practice lap, it’s little surprise it comes out as solidly competent as “The Woman in the Window.” Like looking into the reflection in a pane of glass, “Window” mirrors a Lang film that would release just one year after it; “Scarlet Street.” Also starring Edward G. Robinson. And Joan Bennett. And Dan Duryea. In a noir-worthy twist, however, the two films do have different teams of writers. While “Window” stands on its own as a tight and competent entry in Lang’s filmography, it’s difficult to see it in solo, out of “Scarlet’s” shadow. The setup for each work is remarkably similar; an impotent man falls for a mysterious woman out of his league, and in so doing, trips into a plot of murder and intrigue. With the roster of talent involved, it’s hard to put up an objection to watching Robinson and Bennett stretch their already bountiful capacities before unleashing them at full strength in “Scarlet.” Though, “Window” really does feel like seeing the two cold read material they would make a meal out of in short order. The pair in “Window” seem somewhat stilted; appearing to still be chewing on the dry bone, before getting to the juiciest aspects of their parts. Lang, too, is more than aptly competent in his noir domain with “Window,” keeping its somewhat unbelievable prospect in tangible motion throughout. But it’s only in a cheap gag in the film’s closing moments that he somewhat accidentally finds himself in the nightmarish visual antics that make “Scarlet” so instantly iconic. Still, it is always a pleasure at getting a peak inside a trial run by one of the best to ever step behind a camera.

ScreeningNotes2.0

For one of the few directors who successfully transitioned from the silent era to sound, Fritz Lang seems like he has almost nothing to do in the disappointingly talky The Woman in the Window. It's one of the films which helped inspire the French New Wave to create the term "film noir," but while all the visual coordinates of the genre are definitely here (nighttime, dark shadows, sharp contrast), it's hard to imagine that this is the film that inspired a generation. Film noir is a genre known primarily for its moral complexity, but there's almost no ambiguity here. Our main character, Richard Wanley (a fabulously neurotic Edward G. Robinson), is a criminal law professor, and he takes great pains to explain both the morality of his actions and the thought process going on in his head. "I should say no, I know," he says, adding "but I have no intention of doing it," as if his intentions were ever unclear. Then he kills a man—not out of passion, but in self defense, so that we know he's not really a bad guy at heart. It just feels tame, which for noir is a killer. It's reportedly not entirely Lang's fault—from Fantastic Four to Ant-Man, we hear all the time about studio interference today, and in this regard Woman in the Window is a decidedly modern production. Lang was forced to tone down his script, even to the point of adding an awful happy ending on top of what was supposed to be a tragedy. Hidden beneath these forced changes, there's a compelling drama about a family man tempted to the dark side of romance who kills for his mistress, but most of it is anesthetized from the film.If The Woman in the Window is about anything, it's about how men find value in the image of women (a common theme for noir, although the eponymous woman here barely qualifies as a femme fatale). The whole thing begins when Wanley sees a beautiful portrait, and there are many shots that linger on pictures of his wife and kids. But without the pathological motivation of desire (extracted by the studio), the connection between the woman and the murder disappears, removing thematic development and suspense. There's some great tension elsewhere (hiding the body, drugging the scotch & soda), but with the central murder boiled down to self defense, there's just not much emotional friction or ethical conflict, and it all just feels a bit safe. In technical terms, it's a fairly well made movie. The cinematography is slick and stylish, and it hints at a dark portent which is totally glossed over by the story. The three lead performances are all very convincing and enjoyable to watch, with Edward G. Robinson stealing the show with his subtle nervous tendencies. The dialogue occasionally shows signs of taking an intellectual look at murder—when it's not too busy walking the audience through its tension and character development, that is. The movie has a visual flourish, to be sure, but more often than not it gets bogged down in explaining everything through its dialogue.Maybe my expectations were just too high. I decided to watch this movie based on its reputation: not only did it inspire the French New Wave, Paste named it their best film noir of all time. So it's safe to say I'm disappointed in my experience of The Woman in the Window, and while I'm still coming away generally positive on the movie, it's definitely not going to make it onto any of my own lists of personal favorite noirs anytime soon. Fritz LangPaste's 100 Best Noirs***Random Spoiler Note***What if the real dream is the happy ending?