Few novels are successfully translated to the screen, and the adaptations of Stephen King's novels are a testament to that statement.??Exceptions such as \Stand by Me"" and ""The Shawshank Redemption"" are both excellent stories and excellent movies, but?? King's stories have also been adapted into such messes as ""Sleepwalkers,"" ""The Lawnmower Man"" and even ""The Shining.""?? Excellent source material has been squandered on poor presentation.??Sadly, ""Secret Window,"" falls into this latter category.
The movie is at least true to King's story of troubled writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp). He is battling both writer's block and a crippling depression, brought about by the divorce from his wife.??Things become complicated when John Shooter (John Turturro) shows up, claiming Rainey stole his story and wants payment. He doesn't want payment in the form of compensation but in the form of violent revenge. Suddenly, Rainey is encountering threatening messages, dead dogs and burned down houses.??In order to take back control of his life, Rainey must confront Shooter.
While David Koepp is an adequate screenwriter, he really drops the ball with his clumsy direction. The problem is this is a suspense/horror movie, yet Koepp doesn't include anything to create suspense or horror.??There are no fright moments, no times when something jumps from out of nowhere at the camera and no frightening music. John Shooter could have been a vastly frightening character, but instead he sinks to the level of parody of a Southern hick.??Oddly enough, this parody of a character doesn't really inspire fear.
Koepp even tried cribbing some style from Stanley Kubrick. One scene makes several references to visual elements used in ""The Shining."" Granted, it might be Koepp's way of subtly pointing out that both movies were based on King's works, but the execution comes off as forced and cheapens the visual elements.
The majority of the movie is spent with Depp's Rainey alone in a cabin, so it is fortunate that Depp was able to rise above the sub-par directing and craft a truly unique character.??Rainey literally spends half the movie going to and from taking naps, eating junk food and complaining about random things,?? yet Depp is actually able to make these actions compelling.
Unfortunately, the other characters receive very little screen time. Sure, Depp is the star, but John Turturro and Charles S. Dutton are tremendously gifted actors who are given very little to work with.?? Dutton's character is so insignificant that if he had not been in the movie it would have barely altered the storyline. It is obvious he tried to make the character interesting, but the small size of the role did not allow him to experiment or make the character compelling.
""Secret Window"" could have been a great movie. The original story from King is magnificent and Depp is a fantastic actor who is only getting better with age. However, Koepp's poor direction ruined that possibly potent combination.??
