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Secret Window

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Secret Window (2004)

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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Dramas

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Anyone with a passing knowledge of King's jam-packed oeuvre and its spotty movie translations will be fidgeting in their seats from the get-go.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/14/04
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
05/01/04
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

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Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
05/01/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Even Johnny Depp in quirk-overdrive can't save it, his slyly insincere performance eventually irritating as much as the sincerely stupid movie he's stuck in.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/01/04
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Koepp simply never gets anywhere near the story's underlying themes.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
03/18/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

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Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/07/08
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Once again, Depp slouches into a piece of mainstream entertainment and takes every opportunity to amuse himself.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

This is, in short, a mystery story that has very little actual mystery.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
10/11/06
Peter T. Chattaway
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

Depp's ... wonderfully frazzled portrait of seething resentment almost makes this minor thriller seem fresh.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
03/14/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

...an enjoyable little genre picture -- tense and stylish and full of Johnny Depp.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
10/07/04
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

Another lousy movie adapted from Stephen King's writing; another slander against the mentally ill; another energetic Depp performance in a losing cause.

Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews | comment Comment
08/06/04
Martin Scribbs
Martin Scribbs
Mixed Reviews

Wait-for-video more than straight-to-video.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
07/16/04
Harry Guerin
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

Latest News for Secret Window

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