Thursday, March 18, 2004

Secret Window ***1/2


Cast: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles S. Dutton
Director: David Koepp

Author Mort Rainey (Depp) is on the brink of a divorce and living a deeply depressed life in his cabin in the woods, trading everyday interaction with people for a comfy sleeping spot on his sofa. Every once and a while he might even write something. One day, his life is disrupted by the appearance of a stranger, John Shooter (Turturro), who claims that Rainey stole his story, and he wants Rainey to "make it right". Initially dismissing this claim, Rainey soon finds that his story and Shooter's story are almost identical, and Shooter will not be ignored. Shooter begins to turn up the heat, and Rainey finds himself racing against time to prove himself. Depp, fresh off of Pirates of the Caribbean, is back in a Johnny Depp-like role in the quirky, unkempt Mort Rainey. Turturro, who is always good playing the weirdo does an excellent job as the mysterious Shooter. Well directed by Koepp, with subtle clues as to the answer of Rainey's delimna, this adaptation of a Stephen King story is very well done. And for those who have read the story, the movie actually improves (in my opinion) on the ending.

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