Secret Window

When this movies first came out, I truly had no desire to watch it...not because I thought it was scary or anything...but as much as I love Johnny Depp, the previews didn't appeal to me. Go figure, that a friend recommends it, I watch it, and my original decision about the movie was affirmed.


Genre: Drama, Suspense/Horror, Thriller and Adaptation
Run time: 1 hr, 37 min
Rating: PG-13 for violence/terror, sexual content and language.
Starring: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles Dutton
Synopsis: Though he knows he should be at his computer writing another book, or at least walking his dog along the sparkling lake outside his dingy cabin, successful author Mort Rainey is sleeping on his favorite sofa for up to 16 hours a day. He is in the midst of a painful divorce and everything about the breakup has turned messy and unpleasant. It has sapped his energy and siphoned away his creativity, leaving him with a monumental case of writer's block that renders him incapable of even stringing a simple sentence together. Then, when it seems as if things can't possibly get worse, a psychotic stranger named John Shooter shows up at his doorstep, accuses Rainey of plagiarizing his story and demands satisfaction. Despite Rainey's efforts to placate him, Shooter becomes increasingly insistent and hostile, intimating a twisted sort of justice that could include cold-blooded murder. Forced into a mind-bending game of cat and mouse, Rainey discovers that he has more cunningness and gritty determination than he ever imagined. In the end, he realizes that elusive Shooter may know him better than he knows himself.


I was so disappointed with this movie, that it took me two days to realize that I could, and probably should, blog about this movie. At first glance, this movie is about a crazy author as he deals with personal demons, the most recent of which is catching his wife cheating and going through the ensuing divorce. After that scenario has been set up, another wrench is thrown into the wreck that is Mort's (Depp) life, when a psychopath claims that Mort plagiarized his book. Upon finishing the movie I figured it was a waste of time to blog about it because it was a simple case of "sin and consequences."

After further thinking about the movie, I've decided that it's a little deeper than that...

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!!

Near the end of the movie, it comes to light that Mort and Shooter are one in the same, the only difference is that Shooter is the dark side of Mort, the one who is willing to do what Mort would normally not do. He's able to disassociate himself from this inner darkness and deny it until it faces him head-on. At this point, Mort has a choice to make, embrace the darkness or deny it full reign.

We all have this darkness within us. As Christians we call this darkness sin. Sometimes we deny that this darkness exists within us, sometimes we ignore it and let it run its course without any interference from us, and sometimes we embrace the darkness. Every single one of us is capable of unimaginable and terrible things if this darkness is left unchecked. But as Christians, we know that there is one stronger than the darkness, that He is the only way to overcome the darkness.

Whether or not you see this movie is up to you. I personally wouldn't recommend this movie, but I know many people who have enjoyed it...to each his own...