Girl at the Window – Movie Review
Director: Mark Hartley
Writer: Terence Hammond, Nicolette Minster (Screenplay)
Cast
- Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill)
- Ella Newton
- Vince Colosimo (Chopper)
- Karis Oka
Plot: It is based on a mother and daughter who deals with an uncertain threat that brings them closer together as a blend.
Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Girl at the Window starts as we meet Barbara (Mitchell) and her daughter Amy (Newton) getting a new neighbour. Amy starts to believe that their neighbour Chris (Colosimo) is a notorious serial killer in the area. When the latest killing and kidnapping happens, Amy looks to solve the case, as the police try to unfold the mystery themselves.
Amy’s race to learn the truth intensifies when Chris starts dating her mother. Barbara starts to question how affected Amy has become by her father’s death, while the race to stop the killer continues.
Verdict on Girl at the Window
Characters
Amy is a teenage girl that has been dealing with the trauma from her father’s death, something she feels guilty over. She has moved into a new home with her mother and starts believing he is a notorious serial killer in the area. Amy starts recording everything that happens outside of the home as she tries to discover the truth while balancing her own reality.
Barbara is Amy’s mother who is trying to start a fresh life too. She has started dating the neighbour and gets torn between her own dating life and her daughter’s behaviour.
Chris is the neighbour that Barbara and Amy have moved next door to. From the outside, it looks like he is being suspicious of his action but there is a question over whether he is the killer or not.
Performances
The performances are carried by Ella Newton, who must go through the most during the movie. She must balance the potential hunt for a serial killer or the potential of her guilt catching up with her. Radha Mitchell falls more into the caring mother who will do whatever she can for her daughter.
Story
The story follows a teenage girl that believes her neighbour is a notorious serial killer. She must prove she is correct as her own mind leaves questions about her past, as nobody else believes her.
This story borrows heavily from ‘Rear Window’ with the concept of questioning a neighbour’s behaviour. The smartest part of the story is balancing the battle between Amy’s own mind. She is filled with guilt about her father’s death, which is seen in how people react to everything. Outside of this, we get to see everything coming off quite calm with the approach, with the movie lacking the urgency it hints heavily at. There are also a few moments in the story that lacks the direction given to them and it feels like they get lost in the system.
Themes
Girl at the Window is a mystery thriller that takes the Rear Window formula and blends it with a guilty conscience. The problem comes with the idea that tries to balance reality with imagination, despite going heavily into showing what the killer is doing. It might well keep you guessing but it is more about who the killer is than whether there is even a killer at all.
Final Thoughts – Girl at the Window is a good psychological horror.
