Movie Review :: The Secret Window

Movie Review :: The Secret Window
Posted :: Apr 26, 2004 by Impact

Movie :: The Secret Window
Director = David Koepp (Stir of Echoes)
Genre = Thriller
Rating = 7/10

The task of translating a Stephen King story into a movie has proven difficult for directors to accomplish. More often than not, the result is a corny, poorly acted television special. Although, King did give us The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. And of course we'd all love to see a King film rise above Kubrick's The Shining, which proves that it is possible to prevail, and director David Koepp does just that with Secret Window.

Johnny Depp portrays Mort Rainey, an author of fiction who has withdrawn to an isolated cabin in the woods (remember that isolation is, as always, a necessary element in any suspense story). Rainey becomes very troubled and confused when one day, John Shooter (played by John Turturro), arrives and in his southern drawl accuses him of plagiarizing his story "Secret Window." Rainey had published it several years ago, but Shooter claims it as his own, and wants to receive credit for it. The author tries to write the man off as a lunatic, but Shooter persists and threatens to resort to violence. Resort he does. The plot thickens as Rainey tries to figure out what this stalker's problem is and why people are dying.

Depp plays the part perfectly, and does not try to impress viewers with a gallant personality or witty dialogue. He is simply the epitome of a very confused and aggravated author. Depp's realistic portrayal of his character drew me right into the story. The rest of the acting is solid and believable, especially John Turturro who proves to have a very wide range of talent (see him as Jesus in The Big Lebowski).

The only reservation I had regarding this movie was the expectation of it ending supernaturally, with bright lights devouring the sky and demons rising out of the earth, or maybe discover that Mort Rainey is an alien and have Morgan Freeman lead a military assault against him, or end with something else unrealistic that ruins a perfectly good story. But do not worry! We can all thank God that this movie does not have a typical Hollywood ending. In fact, it ends very well, with a clever twist (as a thriller should) and with a fun amount of gore (as it should). Best off all, it was devoid of any unbelievable explanation that indicates the director got stumped and couldn't rationally end the story. I recommend the movie to all, and if you are a Depp fan, you will not be disappointed.