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The Woman In the House Across The Street From The Girl In the Window
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is not a good show. Its central mystery is a bit too out there to make it a good crime drama, and it doesn’t have enough solid jokes to make it a great comedy. But this Netflix original does one thing incredibly well. The Woman in the House... lets Cameron Britton be as creepy and funny as he pleases, thereby cementing a truth that Hollywood needs to acknowledge: Cameron Britton needs to star in more things.
Oddly, the mismatched The Woman in the House… is a near perfect vehicle for Britton because he’s such a distinct actor. Britton plays Buell, Anna’s (Kristen Bell) quiet and nice handyman who is clearly hiding a secret. Every choice Britton makes leads you to believe he’s actually the killer. He answers Anna in a slow, methodical way, as if simple questions like “When will the mailbox be fixed?” only just occurred to him. Almost every answer he gives is punctuated by a disarming fact about his life, whether it be an illusion to his abusive father or distant mother, followed by his dismissive “But that’s for another day.” The man is creepy.
Yet underneath every intentionally sinister choice, there’s a note of kindness and vulnerability to Buell. When Anna suspects that Buell may be the killer, it hurts. This is a man who is truly shocked when someone he’s known for years takes the time to defend him or bandage his hand. Basic human kindness is a quality that seems entirely foreign to him. There’s a kicked puppy quality to Britton’s Buell, so when you learn he wasn’t the killer, it’s a relief. That’s a hard line to walk when you’re playing a hulking potential killer. But that complexity has always been what has made Britton an extraordinary actor.
That’s especially true of his role in Mindhunter. It would be easy to portray Ed Kemper, better known as the Co-ed Killer, as a a soulless smug monster. It’s right there in his story. The real Kemper turned himself into police because he was tired of getting away with so many murders. Instead, Britton transformed Ed Kemper into an endlessly complex character, a man who felt like he was capable of making genuine human connection one moment and who felt like a manipulative mastermind the next. Mindhunter never sympathized with Britton’s Kemper, but it did empathize with him. That’s an impressive feat when you’re talking about a real-life figure who murdered eight people.
Britton showed off his depth again in the final season of Shrill. The actor starred as Annie’s (Aidy Bryant) love interest Will, a man she initially dismissed because he was bigger. Britton’s expertise at portraying vulnerability appears again once he realizes what happened. Yet instead of lashing out at Annie, he defines his character with kindness. That response and his nice smile turns Will into a straight up babe. Barry highlighted still another dimension to Britton, one that The Woman in the House... and Shrill both utilized but didn’t fully embrace. With his gentle voice and dry delivery, Barry let Britton be funny.
So let’s sum this up. We have an actor who has excellent comedic timing, can add vulnerability and compassion to literally any role, and has starred as a swoon-worthy romantic interest. Hollywood, take note. There’s no need to limit this acting force to killers, suspected or otherwise. Cameron Britton makes everything better, and it’s about time we see him more often.
Watch The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window on Netflix
