Howard Wakefield (Bryan Cranston) seems to have it all. A lovely wife (Jennifer Garner), 2 sweet daughters, a high powered job as a New York lawyer and big, comfortable home in the suburbs. But is he needed? Would anyone really miss him if he were gone? When he returns home late one night after a frustrating train journey his attention is distracted by the local wildlife and he finds himself up in the attic of their large garage. From there he finds he can spy unseen on much of his own home, and family.
He could go down the stairs and in the front door. Or he could sit and watch for a while, see what they do when he's not there. This proves more addictive than he'd expected and he settles in for the night. When the family have all gone the next morning he goes into the house, intending to pick up where he left off, but he can't help wondering....
With the addition of a few comforts he settles in to his new 'home', days pass, weeks go by, he becomes adept at scavenging for food, while hiding himself away from his former life. And once you've done all that, and the police have stopped looking, and your wife is getting on with her new existence - what then? Can he go back, and how?
With nobody to talk to considerable use is made of voiceovers. Cranston has a wonderful voice, but there are times when the script edges too far towards the banal. His feral lifestyle is well portrayed and is just the right side of feasible, but the characters introduced to provide him with a bit of spiritual awakening feel like they've been shoehorned into the storyline. And at times Wakefield's voyeurism is just a bit too creepy for comfort.
It's still an intriguing film though, despite the flaws. For anyone who's ever imagined the idea of dropping out this is an interesting variation on "What if....".
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