Secret Window (2004)

Johnny Depp gets high off another acting challenge in this tricky adaptation of a Stephen King yarn. Although the mood is too sinister to allow for the mischief of his Pirates of the Caribbean turn, Depp still manages to embroider his role here with plenty of quirky business. He plays a writer, depressed and nearly divorced, who's stuck in an isolated cabin (shades of The Shining) when a stranger (John Turturro) arrives, accusing him of plagiarism. Writer-director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) does his best to make the rickety material compelling--he gets the maximum out of the cabin set, for instance--but the problems inherent in the King story eventually win out. The climactic scenes are particularly unpleasant, especially in contrast to the cleverness of Depp's performance. A Philip Glass score adds class, but this one ultimately feels like a disappointment. --Robert Horton Amazon.com

Psychotic Johnny Depp!!!

Blood and Rain
Blood for the Masses

Secret Window
Starring
Johnny Depp

Director
David Koepp

Screenplay By
David Koepp

Reviewed By
B.L.Morgan

How many of you out there have had a relationship end because your partner fooled around on you behind your back? I don't expect anyone to answer that question because I know how embarrassing even being asked that can be.

Since today seems to be my day to make people uncomfortable, I'll try again.

How many of you writers out there have had someone accuse you of plagiarizing their work? Not me. I'll tell you that up front, because even rumors of that kind of thing can ruin a writer's career.

Morton Rainy, played by Johnny Depp, has both of those problems. Add to that the ingredient that Rainey is emotionally a wreck due to the intense pain from his divorce and you have a ticking time bomb. Depp is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors to watch. First he was incredibly funny as the nutty buccaneer in Pirates of the Caribbean and now he flawlessly plays a clever, charming, emotionally dissolving man. "Secret Garden" could almost have been called the Johnny Depp show.

The guy accusing Depp of "Stealing" his story is John Shooter, played by John Turturro. If anything is weak about this movie it was Turturro's portrayal of Shooter. To make it plain, He just wasn't scary at all.

Johnny Depp carries this movie and does it magnificently. He is edgy, full of rage, lazy, distraught and funny. It's not very easy doing all those emotions in one motion picture, but he pulls it off.

There is one other star of "Secret Window." David Koepp directed this movie and did a good job of it. He was also the screenwriter and that's where he really shined. If you've read "Secret Window, Secret Garden," by Stephen King you'll recognize the story of "Secret Window." But Koepp weaved some surprises into his film using the original story elements that were very startling.

I give "Secret Window" a rating of 4 out of 5, only marked down because of Turturro's non-menacing John Shooter. He really could have done better.

If you like Stephen King's fiction, you should see this movie. I consider it one of the best of his adaptations. If you are a writer who likes King's work and have read "Secret Window, Secret Garden" it would be a crime if you don't see "Secret Window" with Johnny Depp as the slightly psychotic Morton Rainey.

July 31, 2008

Regurgitated King

If I hadn't seen that "Secret Window" was adapted from a Stephen King story I wouldn't have been surprised. This flick just smacks of deja vu. It's not bad King but it's not particularly great. The blocked writer in a remote setting with murder and mayhem ensuing is just so familiar. What elevates the film beyond the mundane are game performances by Johnny Depp as the harried writer and John Turturro delivering an inspired turn straight from "Night of the Hunter". Maria Bello looks hot but essentially wasted. Forgettable in the near extreme. July 14, 2008

Hollywood does good with this King story.

Johnny Depp, you just have to admire the guy.
He can turn any role into something brilliant.
He certainly did in this movie.
From start to finish, interesting, memorable, fun from start to finish.
The ending really didn't surprise me all that much.
I never read the story, but I've read so much of King's work, I knew what the ending would be halfway through the movie.
Still, it's a clever and twisty movie with the usual knockout performance from Depp.
Recommended.
June 25, 2008

Awesome

I ordered this DVD and three days later I had it. I'm very satisfied with this company. I would recommend them to everyone. Awesome job!!! March 23, 2008

Johnny can't save this movie

Though short, Secret Window still felt dragging at times. Its a weird type of movie where nothing really makes sense yet you know exactly what is going to happen less than halfway thru. Nothing is really a surprise here. I don't even know what genre to categorize this film into. Its not a horror nor was it really suspenseful. Its just sort of an annoying and unnecessary film, lacking in charisma and a real plot. February 7, 2008

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