Secret Window (2004)

Living a wasted life alone in a remote pad by the river trying to finish a book and on the process of divorcing his wife, Morty (johnny depp) is a novelist who finds himself stalked by a psychotic stranger who claims that his (the stranger's) story--the secret window--was stolen by Morty changing only the ending. The stranger who identifies himself as Mr. Shooter wants Morty to re-publish the story this time with its supposed original ending and with his name on it. But if Morty, he agrees, gets to prove that he wrote it himself as he insists so that he even had it published two years before mr. Shooter claims to have finished writing it, mr. Shooter will be out of his life.

Morty initially thinks the stranger is just another reader who wants attention but as he discovers that everyone surrounding him begins to be one-by-one murdered, he realizes that it isn't just another case of a fan/reader going gung ho. So he needs to have a copy of the magazine which first published the story before he could publish it to a book to prevent Mr. Shooter from killing whoever is next in line. It turns out, as expected, that mr. Shooter is a not the person he is introduced to be and the excitement corrodes as Morty begins to battle it out with mr. Shooter who this time begins to really unmask himself.

It's such an interesting storyline especially if it's the first time you watch a movie with such a genre. But we have seen a lot of movies like this even depicted in such a not so predictable development. but thanks to johnny depp, the movie is not after all that bad that you would not want to recommend it. This being his first movie after winning an oscar last year, johnny depp is so immersed into the character giving it intensely distinguishing portrayal that is a scanty in Hollywood movies. Even a slight contortion in his facial guise can be turned into an aesthetic inkling about the character he is immortalizing.

© 2005 Jonathan Susvilla