Watching You
Whilst in the middle of a divorce, Robert Forrester (Paddy Considine) leaves New York and moves to a small town where when he isn't working and rejecting the women his friend tries to set him up with actually watches a woman who lives in an isolated home in the woods. That woman is Jenny Thierolf (Julia Stiles) who after catching Robert watching her ends up befriending him and also dumping her own boyfriend Greg Wyncoop (James Gilbert) when he proposes to her. With Jenny spending more and more time with Robert it leads to Greg violently confronting him and in self defence Robert ends up throwing a lucky punch which knocks him out. But when Greg goes missing Robert finds himself the main suspect with his life falling apart and a sense that Greg is actually behind all of his issues.
"The Cry of the Owl" is an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel and having watched it I reckon that this will appeal to those who enjoy reading Highsmith's books and those with a similar style. That isn't to say it didn't entertain me but it simply didn't grab me in he same way it has others having looked through a few opinions. I suppose in truth I found the character ideas in "The Cry of the Owl" intriguing because we have the flawed Robert not wanting commitment finding himself being stalked by Jenny who is incredibly needy and is convinced they are meant to be. Both of these troubled people make for a fascinating situation as Robert tries to pull away whilst Jenny desperately trying to get close to him. And then there are those in the supporting roles such as Robert's manipulative wife which adds to the movie's sense of mystery
But whilst the characters of Robert and Jenny were certainly intriguing what actually happens in the movie doesn't quite work for me with Greg going missing after a fight, Robert being the main suspect and then a series of events which make Robert believe someone has a vendetta against him. It simply didn't grab me despite there being some decent foreboding dialogue, drama as well as twists with all those involved playing their parts well, especially Julia Stiles who makes Jenny exceptionally needy but kind of unsettling at the same time.
What this all boils down to is that "The Cry of the Owl" is an entertaining thriller with intriguing characters which are nicely played with Paddy Considine and Julia Stiles doing a nice job with their characters. But for me something stopped this movie from just being okay and part of me thinks that maybe those who enjoy the novels of Patricia Highsmith will get more out of it.
