Some windows should never be opened.
Movie Secret Window
The Plot(screenit.com)
Mort Rainey (JOHNNY DEPP) is a novelist living in a cabin on the lake
who's seen better days. Not only did he discover his wife, Amy (MARIA
BELLO), in bed with another man, Ted (TIMOTHY HUTTON), six months
earlier, but the thought of that and their pending divorce has left him
with writer's block.
Spending most of his time sleeping on his
tattered sofa, Mort's status goes from bad to worse when a stranger,
John Shooter (JOHN TURTURRO), shows up at his doorstep one day,
claiming the author stole and published the work he previously wrote.
Mort claims innocence, but Shooter is intent on the writer making
things right and warns him that this matter is just between them. Given
just three days to prove he wrote it before the stranger takes action,
Mort seeks help from local Sheriff Dave Newsome (LEN CARIOU), but the
lawman doesn't seem too concerned.
Mort then turns to New York
detective Ken Karsch (CHARLES S. DUTTON) who previously helped him in a
similar matter and agrees to take care of Shooter. Yet, as Mort tries
to deal with that and come to terms with Amy wanting to finalize their
divorce, little does he know how things will unexpectedly spiral out of
control.
My Review
Based on author Stephen King's horror novel, "Four Past Midnight: Secret Window, Secret Garden", this is definitely not one of Johnny Depp's best works. I think the book must be better than the movie.
Ya, we have Johnny Depp and John Turturro(chilling
performance) in their elements, giving superlative performance as
usual. And there is some trick camerwork in the end involving mirrors
which is cool to watch.
Beyond that, one doesn't find much
to savour here. Ya, the twists in the climax are the kind which you
must have seen in a dozen movies by now.
Apart from the face-off between Johnny Depp & John Turturro which is the best aspect of the movie, there's nothing else that grips or truly scares you.
Actors Maria Bello(World Trade Centre, Thank You for Smoking) and Timothy Hutton(The General's Daughter, French Kiss) are the others who were convincingly good in their respective roles.
I think the biggest reason for me to mark this movie down is some
unconvincing situations in the plot. Its a tad difficult for me to
believe that one of the main characters in the story finally seeks
brutal revenge after all these years without any previous history of
violence.
I think the scriptwriter wanted to incorporate such
implausible stuff without realising how perplexing this might seem to
the viewer, just to give this movie that 'mysterious touch'.
Anyway, a movie is supposed to entertain. So lets not dig deeper and spoil the broth :)
Some trivia (imdb.com)
~ John Turturro decided to star in the movie because his son, a big fan of Stephen King, convinced him to.
~ Johnny Depp's character's name is Morton Rainey. Toward the end of
the movie, this character puchases three items at the grocer's. One of
the items is a box of MORTON's salt whose moto is: "When it rains it
pours." Thus Morton Rainey.
Director - David Koepp
Year - 2004
Starring - Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello
Verdict ~ Dark, psychological thriller. Well, it didn't thrill me much...
