Movie Review – Secret Window – A film about a writer who is faced with an enemy, not a fan.

What writer can resist watching a movie about a writer, hidden away in a lakeside house? It sounds like the perfect dream, a wonderful place to hide away from the world as you write stories, no distractions, no interruptions... bliss!

But, of course, things could not be so easy. And, with Johnny Depp in it, you know it's going to be good!

Now, let me stop talking about nothing, and introduce the movie. Then, we shall get into my review!

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Psychological suspense thriller based on a novella by horror writer Stephen King. Johnny Depp stars as famed mystery writer Mort Rainey who, following an acrimonious separation from his wife Amy (Maria Bello), takes some time out at his remote lake house. Shortly after his arrival, he is unexpectedly confronted by a dangerous stranger named John Shooter (John Turturro). Claiming that Rainey has plagiarised his short story, changing only the ending, the psychotic Shooter demands justice. When Shooter's fearful demands turn to threats - and then murder - Rainey turns to a private detective, Ken Karsch (Charles S. Dutton) for help - but he soon begins to wonder if he can trust anyone or anything...

My Review!

Six months after catching his wife cheating on him, Mort Rainey's life is spent lying on his sofa, sleeping to escape the world. The separation was particularly brutal, and Mort has been delaying signing the divorce papers because he knows that as soon as he does, Amy will be truly lost to him forever.

When a man named John Shooter turns up on Mort's doorstep, with a manuscript, claiming that Mort stole his short story and published it as his own, Mort is flippant, simply wanting the man to leave. But, Shooter sticks around, his persistence turning to threats, and Mort starts to grow concerned. The manuscript Shooter gave him is the same story he wrote, the one he titled Secret Window. It is nearly word for word, apart from one important aspect. The ending.

As Mort start to find himself feeling more and more in danger, and that Shooter might end up killing him, he tries to get himself some protection. The sheriff is an older man, and Mort does not trust his life in the man's hands, turning instead to a private detective. But still, Mort can't settle. Shooter has promised that if Mort can prove he wrote the story first, then he'll leave, never to return. And Mort has proof, the magazine the article was originally published in, with his name next to the title. The only problem is that the magazine is at Amy's house, and he has been avoiding any conversation that might lead to talk of signing papers.

Mort is a very troubled character. With his napping most of the day, it is clear he has problems with avoiding issues, proven still by the unsigned divorce papers, and Amy's remarks that, although he worked from home, she didn't see him for over a year towards the end of their marriage. The man she saw was not her husband, just a product of Jack Daniels. But, with Shooter presenting him with deadlines and threats, Mort has to force himself to do what he doesn't want to, not to simply ignore Shooter, but deal with him. Besides, it is not just Mort's life Shooter poses a threat to – he knows where Amy lives as well.

There are hints throughout the movie as to what the ending will turn out to be, how the story will be concluded, but until you've watched it through once, those hints generally go left unnoticed. I have watched this film twice now, and certain things are much more apparent the second time around. If you have seen a lot of thriller movies, you may find the ending predictable, but it has still been portrayed wonderfully – I think Johnny Depp was the absolute perfect actor for the role of Mort. I can't talk too much about the impressive acting, because the stuff that I found myself in awe at comes in the last portion, and I would give away the entire story if I were to talk about it. If you've seen this film, though, and I implore you to, especially if you like thrillers that are more of a simmering suspense, rather than high intensity action, you will know exactly what I mean.

This was a movie I greatly enjoyed watching, and I will certainly be doing so again (I have already watched it twice, within two weeks). If you enjoy thrillers, as I have already said, you will most likely enjoy this.

And done!

I was going to write this post the first time I watched the film, but I watched two movies in one evening, and wrote a review for the other one instead. By the time I got around to writing this, I couldn't entirely trust my memory to remember it properly, so I watched it again.

That's all for now...

Bye!