Secret Window (2004)

Director:

David Koepp

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
David Koepp (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The most important part of a story is the ending.

Plot:

A writer is accused for plagiarism by a strange man, who then starts haunting him for "justice."

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Divorce | Lake | Magazine | Ups

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Secret Window, Secret Garden (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | France:U | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Japan:U | India:UA | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40120) | Greece:K-17

Filming Locations:

Bromont Sur Le Lac, Québec, Canada

Company:

Grand Slam Productions

Trivia:

Johnny Depp's line, "This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. Anymore.", is taken from the Talking Heads' song "Once in a Lifetime".

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Mort's wife tries to escape, she starts her Saab and then struggles to get the manual gear in reverse. This is illogical, as the Saab has it's ignition at the gear shifter, incorporating a lock for the shifter. The ignition will always be turned off with reverse engaged, to be able to withdraw the key in these cars.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mort: [voiceover] Turn around. Turn around. Turn the car around and get the hell out of here. Right now. Don't go back. Do not go back there.

Movie Connections:

References Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Soundtrack:

Once in a Lifetime

More to appreciate than some people realize.

This is one of the few movies that you will either love or hate. There is no middle ground. The people that have slammed this movie must not have understood a lot of the symbolism. Seriously, some of it is obvious but a lot of it would require you listen to the Director's commentary to catch.

While aspects of the story are predictable, you will never see the last couple minutes coming. Koepp made a film that HE believed in, with a finale that may not sit well with the general public. For this, I applaud him.

As I've noted on the message board, Koepp borrowed a page from Hitchcock's book and relied on our imagination to fill in the gaps during the violent sequences. Some of it is shown but certainly not all. Without question this film tested the limits of the PG-13 rating but Koepp did not take the easy way out and turn this film into an R-rated gore fest. This film proves that PG-13 films can be gritty and poignant.

Depp's performance is amazing, as can be expected. The cinematography is awesome. Watch this film with an open mind, taking to heart each character's motivations.

If you've already seen the film I would strongly suggest you watch the Featurettes and listen to the Director's commentary on the DVD. You may find this to be quite an eye opener.

My Score: 8/10 stars