I have seen and enjoyed several movies that Johnny Depp has been in over the years, but I never really considered myself a fan until last year. I am now trying to see all of his movies that I’ve missed, and I have added a few of them to my movie collection. Even before I knew what Secret Window was about I wanted to see it because Johnny Depp was in it. Once I did see some previews, I did think that it looked interesting. Things worked out and I was able to go see Secret Window this afternoon.

Mort Rainey was a successful author. He was staying at his cabin and working on his next book. The writing wasn’t going well. Mort was spending most of his time sleeping on the couch. Six months before, he discovered that his wife Amy was involved with another man. Mort was very upset when he discovered that. They were currently in the middle of getting a divorce. Amy now lived in the house Mort bought and she was still seeing Ted.

One morning Mort woke up and discovered that a strange man, John Shooter, was there to see him. John claimed that Mort and taken his story. John left, but he did leave a copy of his story behind. Mort had no intention of looking at it, but he did end up reading it later. He saw that the two stories were almost identical. Mort wasn’t sure what to think then. John turned up again, still saying that Mort stole the story. Mort determined that he wrote his story first, but John didn’t believe that. He wanted proof. Mort was going to get a copy of the magazine where the story was first published to show John. Mort was worried that John could be dangerous and he went to see the Sheriff. Mort then went to see Ken Karsch, a private detective who did some investigating. John did some very violent things. Amy and Mort talked a few times. Amy was worried about Mort and what was going on.

CAST

Johnny Depp - Mort Rainey
John Turturro - John Shooter
Maria Bello - Amy Rainey
Charles S. Dutton - Ken Karsch


Secret Window was released on March 12, 2004. The movie was rated PG-13. This isn’t a movie to take little kids too. There were some things that happened or where shown that could be very upsetting to kids. I also don’t think the plot would keep the interest of young children. A couple was sitting in front of me with two young daughters. They weren’t interested in the movie at all and kept bouncing around in their seats and talking. The movie was based on a story by Stephen King. I have not read that, so I’m not sure how close the movie stayed to the story. I figure that some things were changed because there are always some changes when a movie is based on a book.

Secret Window was a thriller. I have seen it listed as a horror movie as well, but I didn’t really think it was a horror movie. I guess I consider horror movies to be ones that have much more gore and some kind of monsters in them. There was some gore in a few scenes, though it wasn’t as bad as it has been in some movies. I did close my eyes briefly a few times. The movie could be too gory for some people. There were a few scary moments in the movie, but I really didn’t think it was a scary movie. I did notice one or two times when something happened that seem to be a scare moment, but it didn’t scare me. There was some violence in the movie, though most of it wasn’t actually shown. The results of the violence were shown at different times. Those things weren’t that pleasant to see at times. A few violent acts were shown as they happened, as well as in a flashback once. The movie wasn’t too violent overall, but some people may feel differently. People who don’t like to see violence in movies or gore should avoid this one. There was a little bit of swearing in the movie, but it wasn’t that excessive.

I did think that Secret Window was suspenseful for the most part. There were several times that I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was surprised by some things that happened. I did come up with two theories for what was going on. One of them, the one I did think was more likely, turned out to be more or less right. I think there could be two possible explanations for something, and it wasn’t said for sure which was right in the movie. The two explanations are only slightly different, and in the end really mean the same thing. I didn’t know that one thing was going to happen until just before it did, so even though I figured out something else earlier, other things about the movie still kept me guessing a little. The movie wasn’t fast paced or action packed. There was enough going on to keep things interesting, but some people might think the movie is too slow.

I really am not a fan of Stephen King. I’ve only read four of his books, and of those four, I only really liked one. I absolutely hated one even though I had seen the movie version before and liked it well enough. I guess the book was just too brutal. I like one book all right, and I thought the last one started off great, but the second half went downhill and annoyed me to no end. I have seen a few movies based on some of King’s books. I have really liked a few, and though one or two others were just ok. I went into seeing Secret Window being familiar with only a handful of King’s works, but I did see things that happened in this movie that were like things that happened in one of the King books I have read. I am not saying which King books I have read or which movies I have seen since there were things that were alike and I don’t want to spoil this movie for anyone. The two plots weren’t identical, but I saw things that were similar related to what happened in the main characters. I also saw a few things that were like things from two of the other King books I read. Secret Window did work out differently than the King books I have read, so even there were some elements that were the same, the overall story was different. People who are fans of Stephen King may spot the similarities right away. I did read some discussions about the movie after getting home from seeing it, and a few people mentioned it being like a King book that I haven’t read. People who aren’t fans of King and haven’t seen many of the movies based on his books may find this movie to be more unique and suspenseful.

There wasn’t any nudity in Secret Window. There really weren’t any sex scenes either, though it was shown when Mort caught Amy and Ted in bed together. That scene was short and didn’t show much, so it shouldn’t upset anyone. Mort remembered finding Amy and Ted together a few different times. Amy and Ted were shown being affectionate a few times, but that was it as far as love scenes went. There really wasn’t a love story aspect to the movie. Mort was still hurt over finding Amy with another man. Different things made Mort think of Amy. He was also delaying signing the divorce papers.

The acting in Secret Window was really good. Johnny Depp was brilliant as Mort. It would have been easy for an actor to end up going overboard with character because of the situation he was in. Johnny didn’t do that. He was perfect. He was subtle in his performance and that made it work. He was believable. Mort was the main character, and in almost every scene of the movie. I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part of Mort. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the movie as well if Johnny Depp hadn’t been in it. Mort was different from the other characters I have seen Johnny play. John Turturro did a good job as John Shooter. I hadn’t seen him in a movie before this. Timothy Hutton was only around in a few scenes as Ted, so he didn’t have much to do. Maria Bello had more scenes as Amy. I have seen her in Payback and Coyote Ugly, as well as when she was on the television show E.R. She was very good as a woman wanting to get on with her life after her marriage ended, but who still had some feelings for her soon to be ex-husband. Charles S. Dutton was only in a few scenes as Ken. I think he was actually in more of this movie than he was in Gothika. He was fine in his part. The other people that were in the movie only turned up a few times, so they didn’t have much to do.

CHARACTERS

Mort Rainey - He was a successful author working on a new book and trying to accept that his marriage was over. He had writer’s block and was spending most of his time sleeping on the couch in a ratty robe. He ended up in a strange situation that he was trying to deal with.

John Shooter - He was a man from Mississippi that turned up at Mort’s cabin one morning. John claimed that Mort had stolen his story. John wanted something done to make it right. He kept turning up to try to get Mort to do that thing. John knew a lot about Mort and his life.

Amy Rainey - Mort’s estranged wife. She was ready to move on, but she was still concerned about Mort. She was worried that something was wrong.

Ted - Man that Amy was involved with. Ted and Mort didn’t like each other. Ted wanted the divorce to be final so he and Amy wouldn’t have to deal with Mort anymore.

Ken Karsch - He was a private detective that Mort hired to check out John Shooter. Ken had worked for Mort before.

Secret Window was somewhat predictable, but it was still entertaining. Johnny Depp was wonderful, and his fans should see this movie. People who like thrillers or movies based on Stephen King books may also like this movie.

Related Reviews
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ~ Once Upon a Time in Mexico ~ Gothika ~


Recommended: Yes