The Woman in the Window

Anna doesn't go out very often. In fact, she doesn't go out at all. Ironically, the child psychologist herself suffers from a crippling disorder - agoraphobia. She can't leave the house without being overwhelmed by anxiety. As soon as she steps out of her New York home, she loses consciousness. Her contacts are predictably few these days. She was forced to leave her practice after this disease made itself felt again. Her husband and daughter Olivia no longer live with her. The only company is her cat Punch, apart from the wine she drinks and the pills she drinks. The only people she sees regularly are her own psychiatrist, who regularly visits her once a week, and her lodger David, who lives in the basement. Anna also sees her neighbors, though from behind the curtains. She watches them come and go. Some might say she's spying, but Anna claims she's just showing a healthy interest in the world around her. If she hadn't been such a conscientious neighbor, Anna might never have gotten involved with the Russells. Anna meets 15-year-old Ethan when he brings lavender candles - a gift from his mother, according to him. He seems quiet. Nervous. He mentions that his father is a bit of a "tyrant with a TV," and cries when he says he feels lonely. Anna wonders if the boy is stuck in the house with abuse, and promises that Ethan can come to her at any time. According to her, this is a safe space.