There's good news and there's bad news.
The bad news is that Secret Window, the thriller adapted from a Stephen King novella starring Johnny Depp and John Turturro, is just like every other Stephen King movie from the past ten years. Something bad happens to a writer (of scary books, no less) at his cabin in the woods. Suspense ensues, people die, and things don't quite resolve at the end.
The good news is that Secret Window, despite its familiar script, is still a Johnny Depp movie. His performance is as great as all his other recent work. And he's in practically every scene. Depp plays Mort Rainey, an author who has secluded himself in his cabin trying to write and come to terms with his impending divorce. Most often appearing in a ratty, old bathrobe, Rainey is sharp -- haunted by memories of his wife Amy (Maria Bello) -- and driven primarily by his desire to be left alone.
He isn't alone, though. John Shooter (Turturro), a zany southerner, shows up at the cabin claiming that Rainey stole his story and published it as his own. Simultaneously, bad things start happening: arson, murder. Rainey isn't sure if he suspects Shooter or his ex-wife's new boyfriend Ted (Timothy Hutton). Shooter claims that Rainey ruined the ending of his story and he wants it set right, no matter what the consequences are.
Visually, the movie is ordinary right up to its completion, (but be sure to keep an eye out for Hunter S. Thompson's book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, laying open on a table -- Depp starred in the book's film adaptation). In the last twenty minutes, though, the director brings some amazing effects and shot choices out of nowhere. At one point, when Rainey is doubting his sanity, he imagines his cabin cracking in half (all references to The Fall of the House of Usher aside). The cinematography during this sequence serves to soften the blow brought by the movie's weak ending.
The actors, in various interviews, have been touting the "surprise ending' of Secret Window as the saving grace from its run-of-the-mill Stephen King storyline. In a way, they're right. The ending isn't typical Stephen King -- it's typical of any movie from the past five years that includes suspense or gruesome death. And it doesn't really come as a surprise, either, considering the huge, recurrent clue.
The question that remains, however, is why the hell Johnny Depp chose this movie. After last summer's Pirates of the Caribbean finally brought him praise and massive commercial success, Depp can do just about anything he wants. Sure, Mort Rainey is a complete 180 degree turn from Captain Jack Sparrow. But it isn't as though he is in any danger of being type-cast as a pirate for the rest of his career. As an actor, Johnny Depp has been applauded for his risky choices and consistently great performances. Secret Window, though, would be a poor choice even for an average actor.
