Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live in Stephen King’s head for a day?The place must be filled with mass murderers and psychotics, torture and death. Every other second there must be a new idea for a twisted plot or a new way to kill somebody.Do you think King wakes up in the morning and thinks, “Wow, what a beautiful day. What do I need to pick up from the market today? Eggs, milk, butter….” Nah, don’t think so.Well, whatever goes on inside his head makes for some great entertainment. King is known for his great books but when it comes to movies he’s hit-or-miss. However, “Secret Window” is a must see for everyone. It’s not just for King or Johnny Depp fans or for those who love mysteries and plot twists.Headed by an all-star cast of Johnny Depp, John Turturro and Maria Bello this movie does not disappoint. Depp plays Mort Rainey, a down and out author who lives in a ram shackled house on a lake after finding out his wife has been cheating on him. There he lives with his dog, Chico, and spends his days drinking, eating Dorritos, napping and staring at a computer screen. If only life were that good to all of us.His life starts to get more interesting (and frightening) when a man by the name of John Shooter (John Turturro) shows up at his door and tells Mort in a stern lisped southern drawl, “You stole my story.”Mort tells the guy he’s wrong (or wait, is he?) and shows the guy the door. However, he won’t go away until the “wrong has been made right.” Since this is a Stephen King story some death ensues and what kind of tale would it be without a worthless inept sheriff and a couple of crazy plot twists to blow your mind.The acting is all around superb by the whole cast but Johnny Depp and John Turturro are the standouts. Depp, with all his little quirks he brings to his characters, makes you notice all the small things he does to make Mort come to life. Throughout the movie Mort tries to come off as a confident man who doesn’t need anybody. But when the time comes Depp does a fantastic job of letting Mort’s fears and insecurities surface. This let’s the audience relate to him because his character comes off as just an ordinary guy who audiences will root for.And then there’s John Turturro’s character, Shooter. The mysterious character who pops in and out whenever he feels like its time to talk with Mort. Turturro is amazing because he could have played the character as just an outright southern-tongued lunatic. Instead he turns his character into quite intelligent psychotic who knows more than he’s saying.This movie is well worth the exorbitant amount of money that the theatres will make you pay to watch it. It’s even worth a little less sleep if you’re willing to wake up early and trek down to your local movie theatre and get the bargain price for the matinee.But whatever you do, remember the lesson that Stephen King has taught you. Keep away from crazy people, but if you can’t, never go to the sheriff for help.
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A ‘Secret Window’ into the mind
Brian Babcock
•
March 23, 2004
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