Netflix's thriller The Woman in the Window has received very mixed reviews—here's why

The Woman in the Window premiered on Netflix yesterday following some much-anticipated hype among film fans. However—it seems the psychological thriller has been met with mixed reviews.

The film stars Amy Adams as a psychologist who suffers from agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder that leaves people fearful of spaces where escaping might be difficult. It is based on the best selling novel of the same name by the controversial author AJ Finn.

In the movie, Amy's character Anna begins to despair, after no one believes that she witnessed her neighbour Jane (played by Julianne Moore) being attacked in the apartment opposite her.

With a host of stars also featuring in the film, including Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie and Tracy Letts, and a promising premise to boot, many were looking forward to diving into the thriller.

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However, it has received backlash since its release from critics and fans alike, with many viewers on Rotten Tomatoes slamming it as 'incomprehensible' and 'a total waste of time'.

Many film critics noted it's attempts to emulate Alfred Hitchcock thrillers—almost most concluded that it fell well short of this aim. The Guardian concludes, "Curiosity might bring you here but boredom will drive you away.", while The Telegraph critiqued the editing and camerawork, stating "the production flew off the rails". 

Fans on social media tended to agree with critics, with one explaining that they were left confused and puzzled by the plot. 

One viewer on Twitter said, "Honestly speaking this movie was awful. The book was 10000 times better than whatever this was. Amy Adams was amazing, but she couldn’t even save the film."

While another wrote, "Watched it yesterday. Could have been so much better! So much potential with this film but it was a first class stinker!"

However, the film wasn't without positive reviews.

Some fans said it was worth a go, with one on social media writing, "Not sure why everyone is complaining about this movie. I liked it. Wasn’t the best film ever, but it was good. Worth a watch."

While another said, "The Woman in the Window (2021) is so good oh my god."

Many critics also praised Amy Adams' performance in the movie, with one calling her "superb" on film review website Rotten Tomatoes.

So will you be giving this divisive movie a try?