Secret Window (2004)
Secret Window (2004)
Before I actually get into this review, I need to get something off my chest about this film. First of all Lake Tashmore is a fictional place, second to anyone who reads Stephen King you know that the fictional Lake Tashmore is near the border of Maine and New Hampshire in Western New Hampshire, according to the Stephen King Fandom website it is about 10 miles north of Mechanic Falls Maine. This film however sets Lake Tashmore in upstate New York, however on page 235 of Four Past Midnight, the collection of novellas that the story is in, states clearly that Mort's summer home is in fact in Maine, and not New York, making this in fact a Maine Movie. The same will be true next Monday when I discuss Stand By Me, they might have set the film in Oregon, but Stand By Me will be fun because I know the area that that book was written about, and have been able to come really close to actually tracing their footsteps, but we will talk about that next week.
Secret Window is based on Stephen King story, and it is about an author who is going through a very messy divorce after his wife cheated on him, and he caught her in a hotel with her new boyfriend Ted. After the divorce Mort (the author) has begun to lose his hold on his sanity as he's locked himself away in his summer home on Lake Tashmore Maine (or New York as the film erroneously sets it). One morning he awakes to a knock on the door and man named Shooter is accusing him of stealing his story, and when Mort denies it, Shooter demands proof. As Mort is trying to deal with this man who is accusing him of plagiarism, who he discovers is a dangerously insane man, and while dealing with his divorce, Mort is losing his hold on sanity. The film has a shocking twist ending, that I know the first time that I saw it I didn't see it coming, but it is so deliciously evil and twisted.
Secret Window was written and directed by David Koepp. The film is based on the novella Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King from his 1990 collection Four Past Midnight. The film was produced by Columbia Pictures and Pariah, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was a moderate box office success grossing $92.9 million on a budget of $40 million. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and holds a below average score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Secret Window stars Johnny Depp as Morton "Mort" Rainey, Maria Bello plays his estranged wife Amy Rainey, Timothy Hutton plays her boyfriend Ted "Teddy" Milner, John Turturro plays John Shooter who is accusing Mort of stealing his story, Charles S. Dutton plays a Private Investigator named Ken Karsh who Mort hires to protect him from Shooter, Len Cariou plays Sheriff Dave Newsome, and John Dunn Hill plays Tom Greenleaf. This film is really well cast, with some great actors, Johnny Depp is so convincing as the quirky writer who is losing his mind. I love Depp in roles like this and in the Ninth Gate, there is something about this kind of character, where he is quirky but he doesn't come off as seeming like a dark cartoon character as he does in some of his films. He is a really talented actor, with a lot of depth and range, though it seems like he often gets cast in very similar types of roles, but if you want to see Depp at his best I feel like Secret Window, The Ninth Gate, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape are great films to check out, there is a lot more to him than Jack Sparrow or a Tim Burton character. Also I have no interest in discussing his controversy, I am looking at acting ability, not who he is as person. I also loved Timothy Hutton in this film as the asshole boyfriend who is always trying to meddle in their business, and just pushing buttons, he is so smug and conceited, and he plays that so well. Then I really need to praise Maria Bello for her role in the film, she captures the emotion of a woman who is going through a messy divorce, even if she did cheat on her husband who she felt neglected by, she plays the role very well. I love that this film has no "good guys", everyone is kind of shitty in their own ways, there is no innocent victim in this film other than Tom Greenly and poor poor Chico, that little blind pup never did no harm to anyone, he did NOT deserve what came to him.
In the film the character of Mort said all that really matters is the ending, he is right that this one has a good one. Though some critics say that the film falls apart by the final act, I loved the ending of this film, I loved how it played out and how all the characters played their parts, and how all of the lose ends come together in the end for a deliciously wicked twist ending. The film has a great story, and has some great psychological horror elements to it. Though the story was set in Maine, the film set in upstate New York, the film was actually filmed in Quebec Canada, which does look quite like a lake that you would find on the border of Maine and New Hampshire. Tashmore was also mentioned in Stephen Kings novel The Colorado Kid, and according to Stephen King's books it is 10 miles north of Mechanic Falls Maine, which is just west of Lewiston/Auburn Maine. So based on that information that would put Lake Tashmore around Norway Maine, possibly on the banks of the Pennesseewassee Lake, or maybe Marshall Pond near Hebron Maine (home of Hebron Academy) as the most likely locations of the fictional Lake Tashmore. Being that I used to live in Lisbon Falls (aka Castle Rock in Stephen King's universe), this is an area that I have spent a lot of time driving around, and the lake home would fit this region. Now another big difference between the book and the film, is that the film has Mort living in a small cabin by the lake, the book describes it as a large summer home, and not a small cabin. The summer home would likely be much like Stephen King's own lakeside summer home in Center Lovell Maine.
If you have not yet seen this film, I highly recommend checking it out, I don't know that it is a must see film, but it is definitely worth checking out. If you are a Stephen King fan then this is a film that you definitely must have in your film collection (I actually have two copies of this film). I first saw it soon after it was released, and I remember absolutely falling in love with this film upon the first time I saw it. I love the twist ending, and I love how well it plays out Mort's losing his hold on sanity, and Johnny Depp plays that out so perfectly on screen. The film also looks really beautiful, the lake side filming location that they chose is absolutely breath taking, though in my opinion it would have been better if they actually filmed the movie here rather than away, but it seems like that is the thing to do, if something is set in Maine, to film it in Canada, though again this one kind of annoys me because of changing the setting from Maine to New York. But, yes, I highly recommend checking out this great film, and if you come across a copy of it, it is a great film that should be a part of any film collectors library.
Secret Window is based on Stephen King story, and it is about an author who is going through a very messy divorce after his wife cheated on him, and he caught her in a hotel with her new boyfriend Ted. After the divorce Mort (the author) has begun to lose his hold on his sanity as he's locked himself away in his summer home on Lake Tashmore Maine (or New York as the film erroneously sets it). One morning he awakes to a knock on the door and man named Shooter is accusing him of stealing his story, and when Mort denies it, Shooter demands proof. As Mort is trying to deal with this man who is accusing him of plagiarism, who he discovers is a dangerously insane man, and while dealing with his divorce, Mort is losing his hold on sanity. The film has a shocking twist ending, that I know the first time that I saw it I didn't see it coming, but it is so deliciously evil and twisted.
Secret Window was written and directed by David Koepp. The film is based on the novella Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King from his 1990 collection Four Past Midnight. The film was produced by Columbia Pictures and Pariah, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was a moderate box office success grossing $92.9 million on a budget of $40 million. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and holds a below average score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Secret Window stars Johnny Depp as Morton "Mort" Rainey, Maria Bello plays his estranged wife Amy Rainey, Timothy Hutton plays her boyfriend Ted "Teddy" Milner, John Turturro plays John Shooter who is accusing Mort of stealing his story, Charles S. Dutton plays a Private Investigator named Ken Karsh who Mort hires to protect him from Shooter, Len Cariou plays Sheriff Dave Newsome, and John Dunn Hill plays Tom Greenleaf. This film is really well cast, with some great actors, Johnny Depp is so convincing as the quirky writer who is losing his mind. I love Depp in roles like this and in the Ninth Gate, there is something about this kind of character, where he is quirky but he doesn't come off as seeming like a dark cartoon character as he does in some of his films. He is a really talented actor, with a lot of depth and range, though it seems like he often gets cast in very similar types of roles, but if you want to see Depp at his best I feel like Secret Window, The Ninth Gate, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape are great films to check out, there is a lot more to him than Jack Sparrow or a Tim Burton character. Also I have no interest in discussing his controversy, I am looking at acting ability, not who he is as person. I also loved Timothy Hutton in this film as the asshole boyfriend who is always trying to meddle in their business, and just pushing buttons, he is so smug and conceited, and he plays that so well. Then I really need to praise Maria Bello for her role in the film, she captures the emotion of a woman who is going through a messy divorce, even if she did cheat on her husband who she felt neglected by, she plays the role very well. I love that this film has no "good guys", everyone is kind of shitty in their own ways, there is no innocent victim in this film other than Tom Greenly and poor poor Chico, that little blind pup never did no harm to anyone, he did NOT deserve what came to him.
In the film the character of Mort said all that really matters is the ending, he is right that this one has a good one. Though some critics say that the film falls apart by the final act, I loved the ending of this film, I loved how it played out and how all the characters played their parts, and how all of the lose ends come together in the end for a deliciously wicked twist ending. The film has a great story, and has some great psychological horror elements to it. Though the story was set in Maine, the film set in upstate New York, the film was actually filmed in Quebec Canada, which does look quite like a lake that you would find on the border of Maine and New Hampshire. Tashmore was also mentioned in Stephen Kings novel The Colorado Kid, and according to Stephen King's books it is 10 miles north of Mechanic Falls Maine, which is just west of Lewiston/Auburn Maine. So based on that information that would put Lake Tashmore around Norway Maine, possibly on the banks of the Pennesseewassee Lake, or maybe Marshall Pond near Hebron Maine (home of Hebron Academy) as the most likely locations of the fictional Lake Tashmore. Being that I used to live in Lisbon Falls (aka Castle Rock in Stephen King's universe), this is an area that I have spent a lot of time driving around, and the lake home would fit this region. Now another big difference between the book and the film, is that the film has Mort living in a small cabin by the lake, the book describes it as a large summer home, and not a small cabin. The summer home would likely be much like Stephen King's own lakeside summer home in Center Lovell Maine.
If you have not yet seen this film, I highly recommend checking it out, I don't know that it is a must see film, but it is definitely worth checking out. If you are a Stephen King fan then this is a film that you definitely must have in your film collection (I actually have two copies of this film). I first saw it soon after it was released, and I remember absolutely falling in love with this film upon the first time I saw it. I love the twist ending, and I love how well it plays out Mort's losing his hold on sanity, and Johnny Depp plays that out so perfectly on screen. The film also looks really beautiful, the lake side filming location that they chose is absolutely breath taking, though in my opinion it would have been better if they actually filmed the movie here rather than away, but it seems like that is the thing to do, if something is set in Maine, to film it in Canada, though again this one kind of annoys me because of changing the setting from Maine to New York. But, yes, I highly recommend checking out this great film, and if you come across a copy of it, it is a great film that should be a part of any film collectors library.
Comments
Post a Comment