Secret Window DVD Review:

Six months after catching his wife Amy (Bello) having an affair, Mort Rainey (Depp) has hidden himself away at his cabin to start work on his new book. Struggling to get started he hears a knock at his door and is greeted by a very angry man called John Shooter (Turturro). He accuses Mort of stealing his story and is here to seek justice for the author’s alleged plagiarism. Protesting his innocence, Shooter gives him three days to prove that the story is his or suffer the consequences.

Adaptations of Stephen King novels or short stories can go one of two ways, either they are extremely good (The Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me, The Green Mile, Misery or The Shining) or horrendously bad (Dreamcatcher, Pet Cemetery, Sleepwalkers or The Tommyknockers). Secret Window creates a new category for itself however, simply entertaining.

While breaking no new ground and been slightly predictable, the movie is still good to watch, keeping your attention for its full duration. The script concocts a twisting yarn that does throws slightly too many clues your way but it still hooks you from the off.

This is all due to the performance of Johnny Depp. He is one of the most natural actors on the planet who can effortlessly create a character that is instantly watchable and totally compelling. In Mort Rainey we have a man whose world has been snatched from him, making him hide away from society and even drown his own once abundant creativity. Depp makes the character come alive by injecting believability into him and his circumstances. This is someone who is struggling to cope with rejection and confrontation in the shape of Shooter but Depp makes him instantly accessible and easy to relate to. The actor is becoming a master of characterisation and one of the best actors of his generation.

The movie is all about Depp’s character as he is in nearly every scene but he does have some good support. Maria Bello is becoming a character actress to watch and is quite impressive as Mort’s ex-wife Amy. Desperately trying to still be his friend, this is a character that Bello makes you like when you really shouldn’t. Timothy Hutton on the other hand creates a character that you take an instant dislike to. The actor does a great job in making Amy’s boyfriend Ted the object of all Mort’s frustrations about his marriage break-up. The ever-excellent John Turturro gives another fine performance as the sinister John Shooter. This is character that you instantly distrust and fear, with Turturro playing him as his most threatening. Charles Dutton as security expert Ken and Len Cariou as Sheriff Newsome also do a good job in smaller roles.

“Secret Window” is a very watchable thriller that is made all the more so by the presence of Johnny Depp. It brings nothing new to the genre and you will probably guess the outcome before the finale plays itself out but you’ll enjoy the journey all the same.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, this is a good transfer. The picture quality is crystal clear throughout, from the snowy beginning to the sun-drenched finale. The sound quality is also good with a strong emphasis on dialogue and the very Hitchcockian score filling the speakers.

BONUS FEATURES

Director’s Commentary
Screenwriter and director David Koepp provides an interesting and informative track for Secret Window. Recorded just before the film’s theatrical release, so he doesn’t know how well the film actually did, the commentary covers a lot of the technical aspects of the movie and, with his screenwriting cap on, he also covers the story and characters. Normally single person tracks are not as interesting as ones with two or more people but David Koepp is very passionate about his film and a very knowledgeable commentator on the film.

Deleted Scene (6.47 mins)

With optional commentary from director David Koepp, these four deleted scenes entitled “Shooter starts the fire”, “Mort at the Diner”, “Mort questions Sonny” and “Longer end shot – Pan to Dead Bodies” could have easily have been added back into the movie. The director explains why they ended up on the cutting room floor however.

Secret Window Featurettes (1hr 03.27 mins)

Split into three parts (which you can watch individually) entitled “From Book to Film”, “A Look Through It” and “Secrets Revealed” this hour-long documentary covers all aspects of Secret Window. Screenwriter/director David Koepp and stars Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Charles S. Dutton, Tim Hutton and Maria Bello talk about bringing Stephen King’s novella “Secret Window, Secret Garden” to the silver screen. David Koepp talks in detail about how he adapted the story, the changes he made and his rewrite of the ending. He also discusses the look of the movie, the shooting style and creating Mort’s world. The actors discuss their characters and the story, as well as what it was like working with David Koepp and Johnny Depp. These are interesting featurette that are not your usual pat-on-the-back type affairs.

Animatics (7.22 mins)

Your chance to watch the basic, computer generated animatics for “opening credits”, “Pushing the car over the cliff”, “Twist revealed” and “Into the Garden”.

Trailers
Watch the theatrical trailer for Secret Window and previews of Identity, The Missing, Panic Room and Kingdom Hospital

OVERALL

A good movie gets a very good DVD transfer from Columbia/Tri-Star. The commentary from David Koepp is very informative and he also comments on the deleted scenes, which is always a bonus. The hour-long featurette is very good, with the writer/director and his actors explaining most aspects of the movie. This makes the DVD a very good buy for fans of the movie and it makes you wish that film companies and directors would show this much respect to every film they release.

DVD Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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