On Netflix since today, the black comedy with the improbable title The Woman Who Lived Opposite the Girl at the Window stars Kristen Bell in the role of a lonely woman who is a little too focused on the bottle and witnesses a murder.
What is it about ?
For Anna, who is heartbroken, the days go by and look alike. She sits down with a glass of wine, looks out the window and sees life go by without her. But when a charming neighbor moves in across the street with his daughter, Anna begins to see the end of the tunnel. Until the day she witnesses a horrible murder… or not?
The Woman Who Lived Opposite the Girl in the Window, a series created by Rachel Ramras, Hugh Davidson and Larry Dorf with Kristen Bell, Tom Riley, Mary Holland… On Netflix
subtle parody
We’re not going to tell you that The Woman Who Lived Opposite the Girl at the Window is a parody with the same degree of intensity as The City of Fear, for example. Nevertheless, seeing Kristen Bell swallowing pills and wine is oddly a breath of fresh air in this parody of those very, very mysterious psychological thrillers.
Do you remember this Netflix film released last May, The Woman in the Window with Amy Adams? Directed by respectable and respected director Joe Wright, it features a woman who is heartbroken, lives alone in a big house, and has a heavy hand on the bottle. And who witnesses a murder, but no one wants to believe her…
Despite its fine cast, Joe Wright’s film is a walking cliche of the Hitchcockian thriller who-wants-to-do-the-like-but-cannot-achieve. It was frankly very bad to the point that it could have been a parody.
But thankfully, the real parody of those bestselling novels turned into movies with a real heroine surviving one tragedy and drinking too much and witnessing another tragedy – hello The Girl on the Train – has finally arrived.
COLLEEN E. HAYES/NETFLIX
It’s kindly absurd and it puts the cursor in just the right place so as not to fall into the grotesque farce. You could even say it’s cheerfully offensive. But this borderline humor passes like a good raclette after returning from a hike, all thanks to the talent of Kristen Bell.
Always staying on her line, she offers a perfect interpretation of Anna, bruised with grief after the death of her daughter and the departure of her husband. His tour de force and that of the authors? Succeed in making us laugh at Anna’s tragedy. As in this scene where she talks to her daughter who is playing in her room and when she asks for a hug, the little one replies that she cannot because she is dead.
Back camera on Kristen Bell / Anna. “But how do I manage to forget each time?“This is just one of many examples of the humor displayed by the series. His wine glasses (huge glasses, by the way) are always filled to the brim. His chair is stained from spilled glasses.
This state of dilapidation does not escape anyone in the neighborhood and Anna’s entourage, but compassion is not there for all that. So when Anna witnesses the sudden death of her new neighbor’s girlfriend – widowed, very attractive and with an adorable little girl – no one believes her.
COLLEEN E. HAYES/NETFLIX
She then decides to investigate herself but she sinks a little deeper into a world where she can no longer distinguish the true from the false. Like when she hallucinates and talks to her daughter. Of course, as his investigation progresses, the list of suspects grows and the plot becomes more complex to the point of becoming inane.
Another running gag, quite invaluable. In The Woman at the Window, the character of Amy Adams suffered from agoraphobia and therefore remained cloistered at home. Here, Anna suffers from another ailment: ombrophobia. Or the fear of the rain. So every time it rains and she’s outside, she passes out. If this disorder really exists and must be complicated to live with for people who suffer from it, Kristen Bell collapsing in the middle of the street with her arm outstretched towards her destination, it is irresistible!