Secret Window 

  

Directed by David Koepp

 

Written by Stephen King (novel)and David Koepp (screenplay)

 

Rated PG-13 for violence/terror, sexual content and language

Released March 12, 2004

 

Starring Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton

 

Sorry, Depp devotees, just another movie killing time for Johnny while he plans his next big one, or perhaps spends time with his family.  An average Stephen King story with average performances by nearly all concerned equals an average movie that should provide a great background for socializing teenagers in neighborhood theatres everywhere.  For those parents who might choose to go along, sleep will come easy.

 

Why does Depp take these roles?  Is it a contractual requirement that he has to do a certain number of movies each year whether he likes them or not?  Does he need a steady income for his house payment?  What can a movie like this do to enhance a reputation made with such great performances as Edward Scissorhands, Don Juan DeMarco, Ed Wood and Gilbert Grape?  We can only hope that Johnny is recharging his batteries for the next big one.

 

Enough kvetching about the bad movie.  Let’s look at the good points.  If you like scary movies starring pretty movie stars, this is not a bad one.  It stars Johnny, of course, who is as handsome and sexy as ever.  But you should be cautioned that his caricature of a writer who sleeps day and night, dresses alternately in a bathrobe (or the clothes he slept in the night before) and goes through life with his hair in his face, is not exactly accurate.  Even writers have jobs and have to get up in the morning.  At least sometimes.  Yes, Johnny does play the part of Mort Rainey, who is crazy as well as being a writer.  But even crazy people take showers and act normal some of the time.  If you don’t believe me, visit New York City and check it out.  You’ll see lots of writers and crazy people and you can hardly tell them from anybody else.  So the Rainey character is just a little too obvious.

 

Was Stephen King trying to resurrect his earlier spectacular success with Jack Nicholson in “The Shining?”  Maybe so, but he didn’t have Stanley Kubrick as a director and screen writer for this one.  Instead he had David Koepp, who has partnered with some big names (Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park) but whose main solo ventures include TV shows and movies with ratings somewhat below Grade B.  And Stephen King didn’t have Jack Nicholson in this movie either, who acted the part of the deranged writer in “Shining” like the part would be his last.  If you like a good horror movie, rent the DVD of “Shining” and skip “Window.”

 

John Turturro plays the part of John Shooter, a not-too-happy camper from the Deep South who thinks Mort Rainey has stolen his novel and used it to become rich and famous at his expense.  He is big and dumb as a man can come, but stronger than a country hoss (oh, oh, I better credit that line to Jim Croche, lest I follow in Rainey’s footsteps).  One the other hand, he can’t be that dumb, because he creeps around and sneaks up on Rainey and his hired detective pal Ken Karsch (Charles Dutton) any time he feels like it.  He kills Rainey’s dog without a sound and knows where his ex-wife (Maria Bello) lives with her new lover Ted (Timothy Hutton).  By the way, Rainey did, in fact, plagiarize another writer’s work earlier in his career.  He has confided in his estranged wife about this and now is apparently having a flashback of guilt about that old baggage.  Has Rainey back-slid and gone back to his old ways?  After all, we know he has a serious case of writer’s block as he sits in front of his keyboard and stares at the empty screen.  As you would expect, there’s a secret to all this; but you’ll have to see the movie to find out what the secret is.  They got my money and they may as well get yours too.  Johnny has those house payments.

 

Getting back to John Turturro, he is great to watch in almost any role and does not disappoint in this one.  Unfortunately, his appearances are too few and far between, and his role is so terribly stereotyped that his lines become painful.  His character is essentially one of the locals from “Deliverance,” and the novelty of that wore off a long time ago.  The same goes for Timothy Hutton, in the role of Ted, Rainey’s ex-wife’s new lover.  It’s good to see Timothy get the work, but his appearances in this movie are short and sweet.  Maria Bello does a good job as Rainey’s estranged wife who is having a hard time washing Rainey out of her life.  She actually gets in some good lines and some good acting as a woman with simultaneous feelings of guilt over a failed marriage and relief to be rid of the weirdo at the same time.  Bello has come a long way since her semi-Bambi role in Coyote Ugly in 2000.  Her Screen Actors’ Guild and Golden Globe Awards nominations for best supporting actress in “The Cooler” (with William Macy) attest to her talent and skill as an actress.  She was a pleasure to watch in this movie and almost made me forget about the screenplay.

 

Director of photography Fred Murphy's ("Stir of Echoes" and “The Mothman Prophecies”) camera work is another high point in the film.  The opening shot shows Rainey behind the wheel of a car, his face distorted with pain and also distorted by the windshield, separated from the rest of the world even in his car.  At his refuge in the woods, the camera sweeps across the lake, into the deserted cabin and upon the sleeping Mort Rainey like a wraith taking his soul.  Consistent and professional camera work throughout the movie helps Depp bring out the best in the story.

 

The musical score by Phillip Glass is excellent, if predictable.  Like the rest of the movie, it is guaranteed not to interrupt any conversations or cell phone calls that might be going on in the audience.  But there were no conversations going in my audience.  The theatre was deserted.  They showed the movie just for me.