Open Windows is part of a semi-new wave of found footage-adjacent films that rely on framing their subject primarily through the use of footage from laptops or PCs, with occasional forays into footage from phone videos or security camera footage when it suits the narrative. (All of the above factor into this particular one.)
Other examples include The Den, the Unfriended series, Ratter, Searching, Unsane (actually entirely shot on an iPhone Plus!) and, to a lesser extent, Friend Request, which goes back and forth between a regular narrative film and using social media and the like as a prominent feature.
Open Windows was directed by critically acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo, best-known for his excellent sci-fi/horror flicks Timecrimes and Extraterrestrial and the more recent, sci-fi/comedy Colossal, which is both a homage to Kaiju films and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. He also contributed to the anthology films The ABCs of Death, The Profane Exhibit and V/H/S: Viral.
Windows marks Vigalondo's English language debut, and was released back in 2014 at various film festivals, including SXSW in Austin, Texas, where parts of it were also shot. The rest was shot in Madrid, Spain, his primary stomping grounds before recent times.
It received mixed reviews, mainly because of some of the more ludicrous plot twists, which we'll get to in due time. Of course, this sort of thing tends to come with the found footage territory, so I like to think that fans of the much-debated sub-genre know going in that they're going to have to somewhat suspend their disbelief if they're even going to enjoy it in the first place.
The plot revolves around Nick Chambers (Elijah Wood, who's been making some interesting genre choices since his Lord of the Rings glory days), a super fan who wins a contest to have dinner with his favorite starlet, Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey, who's also made some interesting genre choices since her, um, previous line of work, lol: 😉).
Unfortunately, no sooner has he arrived at the hotel when he is contacted by a man claiming to be her manager, Chord (Neil Maskell, Kill List), who says Jill has abruptly cancelled the dinner. Expressing anger on Nick's behalf that he wasn't contacted about it, he makes him a deal: if he's interested, Chord can help him hack into her life and spy on her, using her phone and various tech that he conveniently has access to- some of which was left for Nick in his hotel room.
Needless to say, this should raise some big-time red flags, but Nick is too overwhelmed with the speed of it all to object too much at first until he's in too deep. Next thing you know he's using a camera left in the room to look into Jill's agent's room, which just so happens to be directly across the way from Nick's room in the same hotel. Obviously, the set-up is all very Hitchcock, circa Rear Window, with some De Palma-esque kink, a la Body Double, thrown in for good measure.
After a certain point, Nick gets caught and has to flee, with Chord helping him elude authorities, as well as subdue Jill's agent, who comes after Nick after spotting him peeping in his windows. Things only get crazier from there, and more nefarious, as it becomes clearer and clearer that Chord has his own agenda to pursue, one which includes terrorizing poor Jill within an inch of her life.
Will Nick go down for all of Chord's crimes? Will Jill be caught in the middle and pay for it with her life? Or will Nick be able to save the day in the clutch, with an assist from some wily hackers that are trying to track down the shadowy "Nevada," whom they think Nick to be? Who will be left standing in the end? And will Chord get away with it?
I won't spoil things for those who haven't seen the film, except to say that a suspension of disbelief being required is putting it mildly for those who choose to go on this particular wild ride. I'm not going to lie: after a certain point, I just stopped trying to make sense of it all and just sat back and tried to enjoy the film for what it is- a fun, if ridiculously-plotted tech-thriller with some engaging performances from the main leads.
As I alluded to before, the entire thing takes place on a laptop computer- hence the title, though it has a double meaning, obviously, what with Nick literally looking through actual windows into people's private lives- so, if that sounds like a chore to sit through, it might be for you. If you hated the Unfriended movies, this is definitely not going to do it for you, for sure.
As is typical for movies like this, it has to jump through some hoops to make certain things work, which is why Vigalondo involves cell phone footage and security cam footage to move things along. I suppose some might see this as cheating, but it also helps make the film more suspenseful than it probably would have been otherwise, so I don't mind it.
That said, it wasn't until the big twist near the end- the one involving Nick himself- that I really balked at some of the plot machinations. I feel like Vigalondo wrote himself into a corner, as many writers who take a stab at this sort of thing tend to do, and he had to throw in a silly twist both to get out of it and deliver an appropriately action-packed climax. It sort of works in the moment, but the minute you start to think about it... yeah, it completely falls apart.
Even so, I really enjoyed it for the most part, and if this set-up sounds interesting to you, you probably will, too. Ditto if you like any of the main cast. As I mentioned, Wood has made some legitimately cool choices since his LOTR hey-day, even if some of them haven't completely hit the mark, box-office-wise. I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Sin City, and he also produced some interesting flicks like Cooties, A Girl Walks Home at Night, The Boy and Mandy.
It's not easy to make what amounts to a creeper sympathetic, but Wood pulls it off nicely, remaining relatable and keeping you rooting for him for the entire film, even when things get a bit dicey, plot-wise. Being as the movie basically revolves around his character, that's obviously a good thing.
Meanwhile, Sasha Grey, somewhat lampooning a certain type of celebrity, continues to impress as a mainstream actress, after her not-so-humble beginnings. I really legitimately enjoyed her turns in The Girlfriend Experience, Would You Rather? and on TV's Entourage, where she played a sort of Through the Looking Glass variation of herself that was more entertaining that most of that show's typical bro-happy shenanigans.
If you can get past the amusingly ironic prospect of her playing an up-and-coming starlet in fear of a leaked masturbation sex video derailing her career, just as her latest project, the hilariously-bad-looking Dystopian sci-fi epic, The Dark Sky, is about to come out, then she's actually pretty solid in the role, which is obviously inspired by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence or one of the many other starlets that's had to deal with nudie pics/sex vids leaking on the internet.
Of course, the ironic part only applies to those who know her former day job going in, but heads up to those who don't: you might not want to do that particular Googling at work, if you know what I mean. I certainly don't hold it against her, not in the least because she's actually a pretty compelling actress, even when there's not nudity involved. (For those wondering, there is in this case, but it's a well-done, suspenseful scene, for the record, and actually relevant to the plot.)
I mean, Meryl Streep might not have to watch her back or anything, but I've enjoyed her in most everything I've seen her in, though her talents have occasionally been wasted here and there, as in her next-to-nothing part in The Scribbler or her turn in the iffy horror spoof Smash Cut.
Grey's been M.I.A. for a few years, but hopefully she'll choose wisely moving forward because there's some genuine talent there. At the very least, she could carve out a similar, and perhaps even more relevant career than her like-minded predecessors like Traci Lords and Katie Morgan.
All in all, if you like this sort of thing, you'll probably like this, and if you're a fan of Vigalondo, Wood or Grey, you'll also be into it. The rest probably need not apply, TBH. Thanks to that wacky ending it's not quite as good as it could be, but it's at least worth a single watch, IMHO. I certainly look forward to seeing what all concerned come up with next, that much is for sure.
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