Secret Window (2004)

A successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.

Director:

David Koepp

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), David Koepp (screenplay)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Maria Bello, John Turturro

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Mort Rainey is a successful writer going through a rather unfriendly divorce from his wife of ten years, Amy. Alone and bitter in his cabin, he continues to work on his writing when a stranger named John Shooter shows up on his doorstep, claiming Rainey stole his story. Mort says he can prove the story belongs to him and not Shooter, but while Mort digs around for the magazine which published the story in question years ago, things begin to happen around Shooter. Mort's dog dies, people begin to die, and his divorce proceedings with Amy continue to get uglier. It seems that Shooter has Mort over a barrel, but perhaps Mort has his own ideas on how to resolve all the problems that plague him lately.

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Plot Keywords:

based on the works of stephen king | bloody violence | page torn from a book | writer | cabin | 

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Taglines:

The most important part of a story is the ending.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Johnny Depp bursts in on Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton in the motel, David Koepp wanted Bello and Hutton to look shocked and scared. He made them both lie in the bed for fifteen minutes before Depp rushed in. The production crew set up large speakers that blared static noise when the script called for them to be scared. The lights in the room were also rigged to go on when Johnny Depp opened the door, startling the actors further. No one knew exactly how to act.

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Goofs

Mort eats corn on a cob while wearing braces. Dentists do not allow patients with braces to eat corn that way, only canned corn off the cob.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits Johnny Depp can be briefly heard singing "Shortnin' Bread".

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Alternate Versions

The camera pans down to the garden, fading to black when it reaches the dirt. The alternate ending continues underground to the roots of the cornstalks, where Ted and Amy's bodies lay.

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Connections

References Ellery Queen (1975)

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Soundtracks

Chico and the Man
Written by José Feliciano

User Reviews

The ending blows it all

Secret window is a quite entertaining movie with an intrigue story line. From the very beginning, you feel engaged and wonder what will happen next. However, the ending is very very cliché and a big let down. A promising suspense movie that blows it at the finale. I wish they worked out the ending and come up with a better one. If you noticed, the lead actress here was playing in the "pay back". There she was the lover of the hero who was betrayed by his wife. Here she plays the betrayer. A twist of faith. If nothing, Secret Window is worth watching just for Depp. Also I like Charless Dutton as always, although his role here is limited. (I don't know what is with this guy, he is so sympathetic and fills every role he is in)

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fenêtre secrète

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,237,568, 14 March 2004

Gross USA:

$48,022,900

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$92,913,171

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grand Slam Productions, Columbia Pictures, Mel's Cite du Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1