| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
|
| Story: |
N/A |
|
|
| Acting: |
N/A |
|
|
| Direction: |
N/A |
|
|
| Visuals: |
N/A |
|
|
Secret fears (are the worse)
by CarlosC (movies profile)
Jan 5, 2007
79
of
102 people found this review helpful
Johnny Depp finds a SECRET WINDOW into primordial fear that lets in an uncanny intruder in this Stephen King adaptation from the director of STIR OF ECHOES (1999) and screenwriter of THE PANIC ROOM (2002) -- David Koepp. Depp is a disheveled, hard-drinking and smoking, cranky writer who has secluded himself in a cabin in the woods to get away from his failed marriage and writer's block. The stranger who comes pounding on Depp's door (John Turturro) first accuses Depp of stealing his story, but we know there is more to his mission than meets the eye.
Like STIR OF ECHOES and PANIC ROOM, the suspense here is parked in an orbit around a troubled relationship that drives the plot. We don't know what the connection is, but something about the desperate state of disrepair in the human relationship governs the trouble that plagues our hero's mind. We get a sense that Stephen King has much to do with the authenticity there, particularly in depicting the reclusive and anti-social tendencies that a writer must fight off. To the unsuspecting filmgoer, Depp's eccentricity and crabby disposition may come off as comical, and in fact his personality is adeptly used for comic relief, but the lightheartedness is a foil for the trouble brewing underneath.
SECRET WINDOW is at its best when it is unwinding, like a meticulously coiled music box prepared by Messrs. Koepp and King who are masters at suspense and timing, aided by a superb actor like Johnny Depp. Although the comparisons may be more than what would be desired by someone preferring to preserve the element of surprise perfectly unspoiled, it is irresistible to mention the previous year's IDENTITY (2003) in order to make two quick points. First, like the earlier film, WINDOW presents a ghoul story that is really explained by psychology. Moreover, the mechanics of such stories make for isolated locations and minimal casts that permit the screenplay to focus on character much more than you normally would in your typical slasher/ghoul flick. But, where IDENTITY was flashy and slick, WINDOW is literary and mature. If the filmmaker had hovered at all times just over the ground and retained more of an indie feel, this would have been an even better film.
(Carlos Colorado) |
My Public Profile 
