Directed by:
David KoeppScreenplay:
David KoeppCinematography:
Fred MurphyCast:
Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles S. Dutton, Len Cariou, John Dunn-Hill, Vlasta Vrana, Isabelle Champeau, Sarah Allen (more)VOD (2)
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Following a bitter separation from his wife (Maria Bello), famed mystery writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) is unexpectedly confronted at his remote lake house by a dangerous stranger named John Shooter. Claiming Rainey has plagiarized his short story, the psychotic Shooter demands justice. When Shooter's demands turn to threats - and then murder - Rainey turns to a private detective (Charles S. Dutton) for help. But when nothing stops the horror from spiraling out of control, Rainey soon discovers he can't trust anyone or anything. (Shock Entertainment)
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Reviews (9)
A brilliantly paced psychological thriller that gets totally buried at the end by perhaps the most perverse climax imaginable. Johnny Depp is without question superb, John Turturro is also great in a role somewhat atypical for him also great. David Koepp is otherwise a master screenwriter, but he didn't quite pull it off here. I wouldn't have any particular complaints about the direction, but the likes of Tony Gilroy and Michael Clayton definitely have the upper hand in the "writer/director" category.
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A decent adaptation of Stephen King's literary work, anchored by Johnny Depp's excellent acting. While it doesn't rank among the top in the genre due to its average script, it still earns a solid 70% overall impression from me. The twist is predictable, but the film manages to maintain its atmosphere almost until the very end, and several scenes have that distinctive King charm.
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An excellent Johnny Depp, as usual, an impressive atmosphere and a visible effort to prepare the viewer for the final "shocking" twist, which is supposed to be the main star of the whole story. The conclusion, however, is far from imaginative and surprising, and Stephen King absolutely failed to handle it as expected. As a result, David Koepp could have tried his best, but wouldn’t have saved this predictable and bland tale anyway.
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The excellent Johnny Depp in a slightly above average adaptation of King’s short novella Secret Window, Secret Garden. Everything goes perfectly until Koepp begins to play around and totally revamps the whole ending of the movie. I still don’t know why he did it. Because in his novella, King replaced cliché with a surprising outcome and so the punchline is completely elsewhere. Too bad, it was a good attempt.
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Even ignoring my aversion towards Johnny Depp, Secret Window is nothing but an average thriller. I didn’t feel any atmosphere, only the maniac played by John Turturro was unsettling in a proper King fashion. The twist is so uninteresting these days that it’s not even worth saying anything else about it. I was actually ashamed that I didn’t figure it out after a couple of minutes. The ending, on the other hand, was nice. Mixed 6/10.
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