#748 - SECRET WINDOW

Movie-Hype (#748) - SECRET WINDOW

For all the talent he has as a writer, adaptations of Stephen King novels seem to be hit or miss. The better results often seem to come from shorter (and therefore more translatable) work. As was SECRET WINDOW. Add to that the plot is about a frustrated writer, and I had high hopes.

The plot of SECRET WINDOW is very inventive. Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) lives by himself in virtual squalor, wounded from the betrayal and end of his marriage, and unable to write. Then along comes John Shooter (John Turturro), an angry belligerent man who insists Rainey stole one of his stories, word for word. Rainey becomes obsessed with proving his story is original, which leads to several twists and turns, as you might imagine.

SECRET WINDOW plays as a modern (more violent) Hitchcock film. Rainey is the typical Hitchcock "guy who gets caught up in events he doesn't understand," and Turturro is very menacing as an antagonist.

But....I don't know. There's nothing wrong with SECRET WINDOW, but I feel like I've seen it before. The story is original but I feel like I've seen it before, even if I haven't. The atmosphere works the same way. Cabin at the edge of town, lots of creepy sounds, sinister music. I've been there. Same with the strange small town where people might or might not be what they seem.

That goes for Johnny Depp's performance too. I'm not criticizing or anything; Depp does a good job. I just felt like I'd seen Depp do this character before.

Bottom line: see it if you want; I won't be mad. But as for me, there are way too many movies I'm enthusiastic about to spend more time on one I am not.