Review of Secret Window (2004) by Filipeneto — 20 Jul 2018

This movie is about a writer unexpectedly accused of plagiarism, after his traumatic and ill-resolved divorce. What could be just an intellectual setback quickly turns into a police case as the writer feels more threatened. We're facing a light thriller with some tension and a good script. But it takes a while to get to the most interesting moments and the first half will seem monotonous, with the conflict between the two central characters slowly becoming more dense. The end, with a good twist, will make up for that. There is a surreptitious link between the importance of film's end and the discussion between the main characters about the importance of the ending in a story.

Johny Depp uses an intentional "I woke up now and I'm hung over" look to make his character more sympathetic to us. His character have much psychological depth and he manages to put it on screen. John Turturro is his antagonist but, at the same time, he completes Depp's character, insofar as the film relies on the rivalry between them. Turturro made an excellent deep southern accent and used a grim, sinister appearance to look more threatening than dangerous. The remaining cast has more secondary roles.