Product of Columbia Pictures and Grand Slam Productions
Directed by David Koepp
Starring Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, and Timothy Hutton.
Mort Rainey, a writer specializing in short stories and essays, buys a house with what his wife calls a "secret window." Becoming the basis of his next story and the catalyst to his psyche, Mort and his wife split after he catches her cheating. But when a seemingly psychotic man from another state shows up at his house claiming that the "Secret Window" story was his idea, all hell breaks loose in Mort's world on charges of plagiarism and other shocking acts of interpersonal terrorism.
"Secret Window" starts as a climactic drama movie that I assumed was going to be all about the struggles of a single man going through a divorce, with the only source of income his writing. I actually watched this entire movie completely unaware that this was adapted from a Stephen King novel. That guy's got some good shit. Assuming that if you have read this review, you have seen the movie and know how it ends. If you have not seen it and don't want it spoiled, stop reading now.
Johnny Depp's character is a very well written, very well thought out character. I would expect nothing less from an adaptation from one of the best selling writers of all time, second only to the dude who wrote the Bible, though we cannot say the same for all the characters. Mort has this paranoid demeanor that is an obvious foreshadowing of the conclusion, using long and drawn out shots of him speaking his mind to himself in a sarcastic yet humorous, dark tone of voice. His lines seem reminiscent of his lines spoken in "Pirates of the Caribbean," with examples such as "I just killed a mirror." and "I'm just gonna smoke. I'm just gonna totally smoke. I'll finish these, go to the store and get a brand new pack, smoke the shit out of that one." Alas, small black words in a newspaper font just can't substitute for the real thing. John Turturro, may I touch your feet? Honestly, I found it hard to hear him talk in a thick southern accent when all I could think about was his Puerto Rican performance in "Mr. Deeds." Turturro, playing the antagonist John Shooter, haunts Mort in his own home, evading his lookouts and even going so far as killing his dog. He is a very convincing and clever evil man and his southern brutality is alarming. Seriously, his character kills a dog and two people trying to scare Mort into proving his story is genuine. This is all fine and dandy and makes for a great story, but its not like these people are coming back from the dead once the plot is fulfilled and Mort is proven innocent. What the hell, sure they can. This is Hollywood! When's the sequel coming out?
Having never seen or correctly recall a movie directed by this David Koepp fellow leads me to believe that he tends to fly under the radar as far as movies goes. A quick glance at my handy-dandy...IMDb! shows me that he does indeed fly under the proverbial radar. His track record is amazing though; he's written screenplays for "Jurassic Park," "Panic Room," and "Spider-Man." Being more of a screenplay writer than a director, I feel that he does a superb job at capturing the story of a character who just can't beat himself. His long and drawn out shots that would make any other film look terrible only adds to the fact that this is indeed a thriller, a psychoclimactic one at that. I'm pretty sure "psychoclimactic" doesn't actually appear in a dictionary though. Though I must attribute what is actually in the movie to what was actually written by one Stephen King, I still need to emphasize them. For one, the dripping faucet in the quiet and secluded house just shows how quiet and empty it is that relates to Mort's life. In fact, they basically ad-libbed the opening scene. Solely to make it look real. Genius.
I was incredibly impressed as well as entertained by this movie as Johnny Depp has worked a masterpiece with this one, playing a broken man who watches his life wash away from two separate perspectives, finally coming to terms with himself in a scene at the end almost exactly like the ending scene from "The Uninvited."
I love-love-loved this movie. I would watch it again and again and again. Though I might get tired of it tired of it tired of it at some point, just like I did "Rush Hour 2." I give this movie a solid A. There were things that could have been better, as is true with every other movie on the planet. I'm a sucker for smart, witty lines and clues hidden all over in other aspects of a thriller, yet even if I knew what was coming I still might freak out.
"You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story, the ending. And this one... is very good. This one's perfect." -- Mort Rainey
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