{"id":18368,"date":"2022-06-02T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=18368"},"modified":"2024-03-02T21:12:46","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T05:12:46","slug":"review-watcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/review-watcher\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Watcher<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the frequency of voyeurism as a theme on film, it\u2019s telling that the often-male filmmakers rarely center the perspective of the often-female victims who are being watched. Instead, in films like Rear Window<\/em>, Blow-Up<\/em>, and, uh, most of Brian De Palma\u2019s oeuvre, the audience is given the point-of-view of the person doing the watching, with little weight given to the person on the other end of the lens. Though writer-director Chloe Okuno (V\/H\/S\/94<\/em>) might have called her debut feature Watcher<\/em>, she focuses instead on a woman who worries she\u2019s being watched by her neighbor \u2014 and stalked by him around an unfamiliar city \u2014 in this slim, grim thriller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maika Monroe exudes Hitchcock blonde iciness as Julia, a former actress who moves with her husband, Francis (Karl Glusman), to Bucharest, Romania, for his job. She tries to learn Romanian, but there\u2019s little else for her to do other than wander the unfamiliar city while Francis works long hours. Her isolation is palpable, thanks to Monroe\u2019s performance and wide shots by cinematographer Benjamin Kirk Nielsen that place her alone within the capital. She sees a constant silhouette in a window across the street, and she fears that person is watching her. Later, what should be a delightful experience \u2014 watching the ever-charming Charade<\/em> in a theater \u2014 is ruined, when she feels eyes on her and then sees the same man in a grocery store. Meanwhile, her suspicions and loneliness are set against the backdrop of a city terrorized by a serial killer who is targeting young women, adding to Julia\u2019s sense of paranoia. Her husband doesn\u2019t seem to believe she\u2019s in any danger, and the local cops are little help either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At just 96 minutes, Watcher<\/em> is a focused and spare little film without much fat or diversion. Okuno crafts a mood of dread throughout, and the movie moves quickly toward its conclusion, which somehow simultaneously unnerves the audience while undercutting some of the film\u2019s previous efforts. Watcher<\/em> is just shy of being truly interesting and bold, but there is something here. This doesn\u2019t seem like a first feature; Okuno feels fully in control of the audience and everything that appears on screen. Nielsen\u2019s cinematography is both beautiful and thoughtful, whether in the use of windows and reflections, or the way that the camera skates over Julia\u2019s pursuer, leaving him just on the periphery of her and our vision. Bucharest looks gorgeous, with picturesque cafes and impressive architecture, but shooting during COVID gives the town a deserted feel that adds to Julia\u2019s unease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The overall spare approach also extends to the film\u2019s characterizations of its main characters, but it\u2019s Julia who suffers the most. Though Monroe does strong work in Watcher<\/em>, there isn\u2019t much to Julia beyond her fear and listlessness. Julia\u2019s larger lack of development makes it harder to latch on to her as a human being, but it does lend itself to seeing her as a blank slate that most women can see themselves \u2014 and their own fear \u2014 in. She does at least refuse to be a victim, turning the tables on the man she believes is watching her and following him around town. However, her efforts to fight back are countered by men she should be able to trust who downplay the threat while gaslighting and silencing her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost no one stands by Julia\u2019s side, but Watcher<\/em> remains in her corner throughout its brief runtime. One climactic shot from her perspective truly puts the audience in her head, and it lingers for days. Watcher<\/em> takes the fear of being watched to its extremes, but this is an everyday threat to women, making its action feel far too real.\"\"\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Watcher” is in theaters Friday and available on demand June 21.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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