I think King may have a thing with writer's block . . .
. . . which makes a lot of sense. I imagine that any good writer will go through plenty of stages of writer's block throughout their careers. And let's face it, what could be more scary to a writer than not being able to write anymore?
I quite enjoyed
Secret Window. More so the second time I watched it though because when I saw the ending the first time I felt very angry - almost gypped or something. It was like once I saw it, I thought - oh damn it, why didn't I see that through the whole film? But subsequent viewings were good because I already knew and was disappointed by the ending so I wasn't expecting so much. If that makes any sense at all . . .
At any rate the story goes a little something like this: Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) is going through a miserable divorce from his wife Amy (Maria Bello) after he finds her in bed with Ted (Timothy Hutton). He is spending some time out in the woods with his dog trying to forget about his troubles and work on his new book. With a splitting case of writer's block going, he is visited by a strange and dark fellow by the name of Shooter (John Turturro) who claims that Mort stole his story and changed nothing but the ending.
To prove Shooter wrong, Mort is going to go to his house (well, Amy's house as he doesn't live there anymore) and get the original publication which will prove that he wrote his story a full two years before Shooter claims he wrote his. Unfortunately as he pulls up to the house it is burning to the ground. Several other mishaps occur as Mort tries to prove to Shooter that he has not plagiarized his work by the deadlines he has given.
Each time one of these little mishaps occurs, Mort seems to unravel more and more. Near the ending of the film you get the feeling that Mort might be more than one kernel short of a cob - and you wouldn't be too far off the stalk there. (When you see the film you will realize the bad jokes I just made . . . I am so sorry - I couldn't help myself).
Kudos go to Johnny Depp for his portrayal of an eccentric writer going through a very rough time. John Turturro makes for a convincing and eerie psychopath, hell-bent on justice. Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton are annoying - but they are supposed to be so they did well. And who doesn't love Charles S. Dutton with weapons and an attitude?
I would absolutely recommend seeing
Secret Window. Just realize that you may be extremely pissed off by the ending. Once you get over that, I would say to watch it again because the second time you should feel a little bit better about it . . .
Secret Window Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
David Koepp
Writing credits (WGA)
Stephen King (novella Four Past Midnight: Secret Window, Secret Garden)
David Koepp (screenplay)
Cast (in credits order)
Johnny Depp .... Mort Rainey
John Turturro .... John Shooter
Maria Bello .... Amy Rainey
Timothy Hutton .... Ted Milner
Charles S. Dutton .... Ken Karsch
Len Cariou .... Sheriff Dave Newsome
Joan Heney .... Mrs. Garvey
John Dunn-Hill .... Tom Greenleaf (as John Dunn Hill)
Vlasta Vrana .... Fire Chief Wickersham
Matt Holland .... Detective Bradley
Gillian Ferrabee .... Fran Evans
Bronwen Mantel .... Greta Bowie
Elizabeth Marleau .... Juliet Stoker
Kyle Allatt .... Busboy
Richard Jutras .... Motel Manager
Kevin Woodhouse .... Public Works Guy
Vito DeFilippo .... Public Works Guy
Sarah Allen .... Sheriff's Niece
More Reviews of Secret Window
James Berardinelli's Review of Secret WindowReview of Secret Window from CNN
