Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.
"The most important part of a story is the ending."
Top Billed Cast
Johnny Depp
Mort Rainey
John Turturro
John Shooter
Maria Bello
Amy Rainey
Timothy Hutton
Ted Milner
Charles S. Dutton
Ken Karsch
Len Cariou
Sheriff Dave Newsome
Joan Heney
Mrs. Garvey
John Dunn-Hill
Tom Greenleaf
Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews
J John ChardVerified TMDB Critic
2015-03-20
You strike me as the kind of guy who's on the lookout for a head he can knock off with a shovel.
It's actually a film that shows both the good and bad sides of Johnny Depp and Stephen King adaptations to film form.
Depp plays a writer who whilst going through a divorce and living out in the country in isolation, is suddenly menaced by John Turturo, who claims he is the victim of plagiarism perpetrated by Depp. Mysteries and murky shenanigans to follow...
That the film, in spite of its flimsy heart, is watchable, is down to the two stars, both are filing in for eccentricities and spook...
R RenoVerified TMDB Critic
2016-12-14
**A successful writer who accused of plagiarism.**
It was based on the novel, though the original title makes more sense than this film. Maybe they wanted to avert the spoiler. But I don't think it would have affected much, because the twist comes at the final segment. The tale of a writer who is in the middle of divorce and now living alone is the lake house got threatened by a stranger, because according to him he stole his story. Followed by many unpleasant events, how he gets out of the trouble told in the next half.
Feels just an okay kind. Though Johnny Depp was good. The suspense ...
K KamuraiVerified TMDB Critic
2020-10-04
Really good watch, would watch again, and can recommend.
This is a great mystery / psychological thriller, but most of what makes it interesting is a spoiler.
They do a great job of creating the tension, or Johnny Depp does, as he's alone on screen for about half the movie. The rest of the cast is excellent and gives exactly what is needed to bring the movie, and the audience, to a natural conclusion....
W WuchakVerified TMDB Critic
2023-09-23
**_Suffering betrayal, an author faces challenges at his remote lake house_**
A successful writer (Johnny Depp) is finalizing divorce proceedings while working on a new book at his house on a lake in upstate New York when a hick from the Deep South shows up at his doorstep, accusing him of plagiarism. Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton are on hand as the wife and her beau.
“Secret Window” (2004) is a drama and crime mystery that morphs into thriller/horror in the last act. It was based on Stephen King’s novella, but director David Koepp changed the climax because “the ending is every...
