The Secret Window

Plot Summary

Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), a writer, is hiding himself away in his lakeside cabin after separating from his wife, Amy (Maria Bello), who was having an affair. He is depressed and instead of writing, Mort spends most of his time sleeping on the couch and shuffling around the cabin in his tatty dressing gown looking very dishevelled.

Then one day Mort opens the door to John Shooter (John Turturro), a sinister looking man who claims Mort has stolen his story. Mort disputes his claim but John Shooter is on a mission to correct a wrongdoing and is not going to disappear quietly...

Review

Based on a Stephen King book you might expect that this won't be a straightforward thriller and that some twist or supernatural element will play a part. I think it's fair to say that not all of Stephen King's stories transfer well to screen and unfortunately this is the case here. I suspect that this is a case where the book is much better than the movie.

The first half of the movie is quite interesting with the dangerous looking character, John Shooter, turning up at the cabin and claiming that his story was stolen. He has a dangerous look about him and although he doesn't do anything initially there is a distinct feeling that things are going to get ugly! Mort Rainey dismisses the claim but soon realises that John Shooter means business. Both characters are intriguing and the story is shaping up nicely for a good tense thriller. Disappointingly the story starts to get a bit far-fetched and there are also some very unlikely bits. The holes in the plot start to appear! Worst of all, instead of holding out until the end,  the twist becomes obvious very early.

In spite of good performances from Johnny Depp and John Turturro they cannot save the movie. Johnny Depp injects a lot of humour into the character and is quite funny as he shuffles around the cabin like a broken man. John Turturro's character has the appearance of a simple, southern country farmer and his ideas of justice and retribution are also simple. This man believes that stealing is stealing and cannot go unpunished. This is not a man who participates in small talk and idle threats!

The Bottom Line:  Starts off well but becomes too far fetched and gives away the twist too early.

Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews 2004.

RELATED MOVIE REVIEWS:  JOHNNY DEPP:  Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,  Blow,  Once Upon A Time In Mexico.  JOHN TURTURRO:  Mr. Deeds.

Genre: Thriller

Certificate: 15's

Director: David Koepp

~ Main Cast ~

Johnny Depp

John Turturro

Maria Bello

Timothy Hutton

Charles S. Dutton

RATING

ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO