neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Secret Window
	David Koepp Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles S. Dutton, Len Cariou 2004		Credited as an adaptation of a novella by Stephen King, the slight horror film "Secret Window" feels like it was based on a Post-It note or a napkin scrawling by the frighteningly prolific author. (Hey, it's only a matter of time.) There's nothing intrinsically wrong with trolling the nether reaches of King's imagination if an able screenwriter, a handy director and a cast of note flesh out the idea. "Secret Window," about a troubled, best-selling writer accused of plagiarism by a baleful stranger, would appear to have the advantages. David Koepp, who penned decent scripts for "Spider-Man," "Jurassic Park," "Panic Room" and other movies, wrote and directed. The star of "Secret Window" is the magnetic, intuitive Johnny Depp as blocked, dissolute author Mort Rainey, a man smarting from the break-up of his marriage. Depp's on-screen foil is mighty John Turturro, playing Mort's mysterious psycho-nemesis John Shooter. It's Creep City the first few times Shooter shows up at Mort's door with a spooky, threatening mien and very little reason. But the twist in the tale is easily divined, suspense is minimal, and no one — not Mort, nor his ex-wife (Maria Bello), nor her new boyfriend (Timothy Hutton) — earns much sympathy. Needless to say, the shocks and satisfaction are far greater in Stanley Kubrick's film of King's "The Shining."