The standout is John Turturro, who makes Shooter a terrifying individual.
Secret Window (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:155
Fresh:72
Rotten:83
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Depp is quirkily entertaining, but the movie runs out of steam by the end.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence/terror, sexual content and language
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Mar 12, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $47,781,388
Synopsis: Based on a Stephen King novella, the psychological thriller SECRET WINDOW is reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film. Eccentric author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) finds his life spiraling out of... Based on a Stephen King novella, the psychological thriller SECRET WINDOW is reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film. Eccentric author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) finds his life spiraling out of control. With a drinking problem and a cigarette habit he can't shake, Mort can barely function when his wife (Maria Bello) leaves him and he abandons his work. In the midst of his anguish, a deranged man, John Shooter, (John Turturro) appears at Mort's New York cabin, claiming that Mort has plagiarized one of his stories. As his wife pushes Mort to finalize their divorce and Shooter systematically destroys his life, he struggles to restore order to an increasingly insane situation. Playing off of Turturro who is superb as the crazed, Gothic Shooter, Johnny Depp shines in his role with a quirky, brilliant performance. The mannerisms he brings to Mort, such as a problem with a clenched jaw, makes the author's descent into madness compelling and believable. With an emphasis on character study over special effects, the chills provided by this film rely on skilled acting and evoke thrillers of earlier generations like PSYCHO and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, including a shocking twist of an ending. [More]
Starring: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Charles S. Dutton
Starring: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Charles S. Dutton, Timothy Hutton
Director: David Koepp
Director: David Koepp
Screenwriter: David Koepp
Producer: Gavin Polone
Composer: Philip Glass
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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Reviews for Secret Window
Telegraphs its intentions too early and relies too much on a single actor, Johnny Depp, to achieve its emotional force.
[Koepp] manages some compelling creepy-crawly moments and captures the wintry mood of Mr. King's small-town upstate New York setting.
This is Depp's film from beginning to end, and he's fascinating to watch.
Depp gives a smart, subtle performance, and Turturro is terrific as a foe who's both exactly what he seems and exactly the opposite.
Secret Window, a hack job patched together from bits of Stephen King's earlier, better stories, is such a cheeseball it ultimately subverts even Depp's considerable charm and talent.
There are a couple of tingly reveals and creepy fake-outs, but it's just too familiar. John Shooter tells Morty that his story needs a better ending. So does this movie.
It's hard not to get drawn in as director David Koepp steadily ratchets up the tension and Depp piles on the weird little flourishes. ...warped fun
The movie can only skate so far on Depp’s charisma and a handful of gleefully bent internal monologues. It has no fun in winding to its oafish, obvious conclusion.
What we've got here is a Sunday night on-the-network style movie with an acting virtuoso (Johnny Depp) raising the mundane material to viewable, enjoyable, fun.
A corny goosepimpler for genre gourmets who wish more drive-in flicks were made with a crafty cinematic élan.
For a movie that's ultimately about a writer trying to come up with a better ending for his story, Window is in desperate need of a livelier conclusion of its own
[Depp's] readings and body language . . . comment on the action with a wry snarkiness that is, in the end, the only thing worth watching
The greater question is why folks who have demonstrated relatively good judgment in the past equivocated themselves into a dimwit pot-boiler.
Latest News for Secret Window
July 06, 2006:
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This week at the movies, we've got pirates back for more box office bounty ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest") and a journey to the center of the mind... More...
March 07, 2006:
Spielberg Puts Koepp to Work on "Indy 4"
During his Oscar coverage, Fox's Roger Friedman got to share a few words with director Steven Spielberg, and the bullet points seem to be these: 1) the filmmaker wants to take... More...
April 13, 2005:
Timothy Hutton to Explore "The Kovak Box"
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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