Secret Window Reviews

SPOILERS:
There are few Horror writers with as wide a fan base as Stephen King. Loved by many, King has written some of the most surreal, dark and occasionally twist laden stories of all time. When you get a decent King story and you pair it with one of Hollywood's golden boys, you expect success therefore. "Secret Window" is the outcome and whilst it's not quite as good as it could be, it is still fun enough and well acted, to keep people entertained throughout.

Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) is a well known author who is going through a messy divorce. As if life isn't complicated enough, when Mississippi born John Shooter (John Turturro) arrives accusing Rainey of plagiarism, things begin to get even worse.

Everybody likes Johnny Depp. Most women adore the man and most men admire his acting talent. With a wide range of skills, Depp can switch from humorous to deep in a matter of seconds. In "Secret Window" he again shows this skill as the tormented Mort. Pushed around, occasionally violent, always disturbed and occasionally funny, Depp's character is a difficult one to play, yet he manages admirably. We witness a Johnny Depp masterclass and we should feel grateful for being allowed to experience it.

The story itself is also a pleasant enough experience. Not quite as good as some of King's other works, we are still given large numbers of clues to keep us guessing, and even when people predict events, for many the twist at the end is still a solid enough surprise.

Perhaps the one major flaw with "Secret Window" is the way certain routes aren't taken. The window never feels fully explored and certain potential mystic events aren't explained at the conclusion. In fact, the conclusion as a whole is a bit of a disappointment. After things come together and we find out the truth, you tend to expect a well constructed finale. Unfortunately though the last ten minutes feel like they die a slow death and you can't help but feel slightly disappointed when the end credits roll.

It's not the best Stephen King adaptation ever, and there are countless better films released every year, but "Secret Window" is still worth watching. Led by a brilliant performance by Johnny Depp, the story has enough going on in it to keep you hooked and entertained throughout. Good nighttime viewing, but if not for Depp it wouldn't be worth the effort.....

After I finished watching this--I don't even remember when, it must have been a year ago--it was a move or two ago, I know that much....anyway, when I was done watching it, I just had to listen to "Proserpina", a song, "Proserpina", for about an hour, I guess. A while, that long....

"Whose sounds mine inner sense is faith to bring,
Continually together murmuring,
Woe's me for thee, unhappy Proserpine!"

And, you might notice, if you read me, that I don't *quite* post the most *formal* reviews on the site....even though I try to keep my point-rakings....systematic, or something....anyway, I tried a kinda formal review once, and it sorta failed, for me....I mean, even after I fixed it up a bit, it still just felt like I....cheated, somehow. I guess I'm just....different, like that.

Anyway, at least I'm mature enough to know that a movie does have something to do with the actors--in my sci-fi days, I didn't like to think real-world like that--so, anyway, Johnny Depp defs did a very good....performance, in this movie. And, in a way, it's the hardest kind--like Tony Shalhoub's *Monk*, in a way, it's that performance which, in a way, we *don't* like, which is....

I don't know. Something.

I once knew a....certain sort of speaker....and he was a bit like A. Monk, and, once, he was actually making fun of himself, (for once), and so he smoothed out the pages of that big book, just like Monk would, but the people who didn't watch the show couldn't understand the performance, it was a mystery to them....

'Whose sounds mine inner sense is faith to bring....'

Secrets. A secret window, *a secret garden*....

But I guess they were right to give it the name they did; this movie isn't really about how an English garden grows....

It's too sad for that. Chthonic, if you don't mind my saying.

But it is a very good performance.

'Continually together murmuring....'

......~~~

Johnny Depp: And now that I've admitted what a bad person I am, I can feel free to.... go on being a bad person.

John Turturro: Sneaky sneaky sir.

Adam Sandler: Hey, what the hell are you doing, are you making fun of my friend?

John Turturro: He did in fact, make it seem as though I were a killer.

Adam Sandler: God! why the hell would you do that to my friend!

Johnny Depp: *holds up hands* I can explain!

Adam Sandler: Yeah! Explain it to this, pal! *he punches him out*

John Turturro: Sneaky sneaky sir.

Adam Sandler: *still beating up Johnny Depp* You have no idea how much grief I go through because of freaks like you! You fucking skinhead!

John Turturro: I think that you knocked him out cold, sir.

Adam Sandler: *realizes that he did* Oh, you're right.

John Turturro: Sneaky sneaky sir.

Adam Sandler: I know, right. Let's go get some Hawaiian Punch.

John Turturro: Clever joke, sir.

Adam Sandler: Thanks, Emilio.

Ron Livingston: Hey, guys, what's happening?

John Turturro: *genuinely surprised* I'm surprised to see you here; I thought you were in the army.

Ron Livingston: I know, right; they let me out. *points to Sandler, with curiosity* Hey, I thought you got locked up for assaulting your quarterback.

Adam Sandler: *shrugs* Well, they let me out, right?

(9/10)

Una película que trata de los demonios que las personas tiene por dentro, no sera la mas argumentativa, pero si la mas diciente cuando uno separa la ficción de la realidad y viceversa, por ello no queda mas que verla

Honestly, even though I have seen many of them, I'm not a big fan of Stephen King’s movie adaptations. Indeed, there are indeed a few great movies adapted from his books (‘The Shawshank Redemption’, ‘Stand by Me’, ‘The Shining’) but most of those adaptations are actually rather worthless. This flick basically falls in between, it is neither one of the good ones but not really a bad flick either . Indeed, the directing was decent and I enjoyed the mood created. Furthermore, as usual, Johnny Depp provided a good performance and it was nice to see him trying something else. Back in those days, Depp just became the king of the box-office and started to mostly focus on commercial features. Coming back to our main feature, unfortunately, the story was not really strong. Indeed, in my opinion, it was nothing original at all and actually rather predictable. Basically, it is one of those thrillers with a nice mood but with a really obnoxious ending. Even though it is supposed to surprise you, it is actually rather underwhelming and rather weakens the impact of the whole movie. Still, in spite of its flaws, it was fun to see Johnny Depp in a Stephen King thriller and I guess it is still worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.

It's hard to enjoy a mystery/thriller when you can see the twist 5 minutes into the film. It's even harder to enjoy it when it's badly acted and directed. Johnny Depp is sorely miscast here as a tortured novelist on the edge of madness, and the movie lacks the kind of subtle acting and directing that would make it work.

I have read lots of mixed reviews about Secret Window being a pile of crap and being a really brilliant scary story. This film really surprised me the first time I saw it and it surprised me even more second time round because I had actually forgotten what had happened in the film. Secret Window is a chillingly frightening story that is very dark and is a rather psychological story. After all, Secret Window is a Stephen King novel and he is an expert on writing novels about horror, fantasy and suspense so where can he disappoint with Secret Window? This film left me in great shock because there is a twist that becomes really effective to the story so this film isn't as predictable as you may think it is. Personally, I think this is a really enjoyable film. It is a very scary story but that is what I was expecting anyway because that's what King is amazing at creating.


It was very weird seeing Johnny Depp in a film like this because I don't think I've seen him in a psychological thriller before. His acting as Mort was pretty good to be fair because he is good at playing that charming guy in which Johnny is anyway. Mort is a single man who is about to get divorced and lives with his dog Chico in a cottage near a river in a forest. The location of the house makes it a rather haunting film as well. I read a review once and it said that only Johnny Depp's presence within the film with draw people's attention. I see what they mean but it is an entertaining film after all nothing dead serious worthy of Oscars and Golden Globes etc. Maria Bello has never been a good actress at all to be honest and has never made her characters very realistic and heartfelt but this film didn't make any difference because I couldn't feel any sympathy Amy had for Mort at all. I didn't really like Bello in World Trade Center either. She rather annoyed me in that. Timothy Hutton for some reason made me laugh because he is a real slimeball especially when he and Mort point fists at each other. John Turturro made John Shooter a very mysterious, threatening and terrifying character to cross because he was haunting and stalking Mort for "stealing his story".


The director did a good job I think for entertainment but I wouldn't call David Koepp's directing and script absolutely masterful that deserves to be remembered as a landmark of cinema. I think Frank Darabont would have done a good job at directing Secret Window because he has directed two Stephen King novel adapted films previously: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. That is something that I would have wished for this film but it was still good enough with David Koepp as director anyway.


Overall, Secret Window is a spine-chilling piece of entertainment that I find slightly underrated. It isn't a masterpiece but it does have one of the best and most underrated film plot twists of all time. Johnny Depp's performance obviously isn't top-notch but is an entertaining performance from Depp which I was expecting anyway. So, lastly it is a film that didn't go over or under my expectations. It hit exactly where I was expecting which is why I really like this film.

"The only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story. And this one, is very good. This one is perfect."

Secret Window is a psychological thriller adapted from the pages of a story penned by celebrated horror author Stephen King. The transplantation from short story to script was carried out by David Koepp; a man who has composed a number of incredibly successful screenplays in the course of his reputable career. Koepp's résumé asserts such titles as Jurassic Park, Spider-Man and Carlito's Way. For those fond of the Stephen King novella, rest assured that David Koepp has done a stellar job of converting these pages to the silver screen.

Secret Window is a tale about famed writer Mort Rainey (Depp) who is suffering through an acrimonious divorce and is now residing in an isolated lakeside cottage in New York. Mort is trying to complete his latest novel; however at present he is afflicted with writer's block and is incapable of concluding the story. After a remarkable opening sequence, Mort is confronted by a stranger named John Shooter (Turturro); an irate man from Mississippi who arrives to accuse Mort of plagiarising his story. Mort realises that the manuscript of Shooter's story is identical to his: word for word, chapter for chapter. The only difference is the ending. Although Mort is adamant he wrote his story first, Shooter conveys an ultimatum: that Mort has a few days to corroborate his innocence of plagiarism to continue his life unhindered. Mort is confident of his innocence; nevertheless he cannot dismiss Shooter's allegation frivolously. Things in Mort's life suddenly begin to go sour as his divorce worsens and peculiar things begin to occur. As Shooter intently stalks Mort, he now has only 3 days to uncover the truth behind Shooter's purpose and to discover the truth about who is responsible for the sudden outbreak of chilling events.

Johnny Depp will always be regarded as one of the best, if not the best actor of his generation. Without failure Depp continues to produce piles of idiosyncratic, unique portrayals of different characters. Playing the role of Mort Rainey, I believe that Depp succeeds remarkably. His portrayal is suitably quirky, humorous, believable, well polished and top notch. It's imperative for the audience to empathise with the situation that Mort has been thrown into. With Depp, he looks cute and innocent. And as time goes by, Depp has cleverly made his character look like he's on the edge and steadily going insane.

John Turturro is a great choice on the part of the casting department. When John Shooter appears on screen Turturro's performance is suitably menacing and establishes a perilous atmosphere. It was vital to ensure Shooter's threats seemed genuine. Turturro executed this role with great class and sophistication. I certainly can't complain about the rest of the cast. They deliver realistic performances; maintaining the style of the central protagonists.

Secret Window has also been blessed with skilled direction thanks to David Koepp. Each shot looks stylish and fascinating. The intriguing opening sequence in particular was enough to keep my interest. When we are introduced to Mort's lifestyle everything seems realistic. The secluded setting is a great atmospheric touch as well. This thriller is brilliant throughout the first half; containing strong performances, solid use of the camera, and a number of genuine shocks. But the whole film is ultimately let down by its descent into stupidity when the film has commenced its concluding half. The 'twist' at the end of the film is entirely predictable as well.

Overall, Secret Window is a mediocre thriller worth seeing for its classy directing and strong performances. With a few script touch ups this could have been a whole lot better. A wasted opportunity.

I couldnt wait to see this. I was waiting for ages, I mean its Johnny Depp, what can go wrong?

Nothing. Nothing can go wrong with this masterpiece. Johnny Depp as usual perfected his character, and though the story was a little slow starting I really got into the mystery sorounding it.

Even I was surprised at the twist at the end; you wouldn't expect it to end in that way too. But surprisingly I liked the ending, after all, the ending is the most important part of the story. This one is very good, this one is perfect.