Secret Window
Given that Johnny Depp is in Secret Window, I knew I was going to see this movie. Maleficent is a big Depp fan. Fortunately, I got something out of the deal - Maleficent agreed to see Dawn of the Dead without me even asking her. Did I mention I love my wife?
Anyway, I did not love this movie. In an amusing twist, not only did I not enjoy Secret Window, I wasn't paying attention enough to catch onto the plot twist. Maleficent did - in fact, she said she saw the whole plot twist coming a mile away. In my defense, I feel the movie was boring enough such that I wasn't looking that hard for the Plot Twist ™.
That, and the fact that there were two people in the movie theater who were possibly drunk, definitely movie hopping, and loudly whispering to each other throughout every potentially scary scene.
"He's in the closet," the female would loudly whisper, "I just know he's going to jump out and stab her."
"No he's not," says the male, "he's under the bed..."
I'm not sure if it's better or worse that they were wrong on EVERY count. Still, it completely distracted me from watching the movie. I seem to have this problem a lot (for more amusing anecdotes, see the throw down after Dawn of the Dead). But I digress.
Secret Window is standard Stephen King fare. Good ole' Mr. King is an expert at taking an everyday domestic situation and turning it into a supernatural, awful occurrence. Indeed, the events that take place are awful enough - the supernatural just speeds up the horrible process. And that process is the complete destruction of a human being.
The Stephen King Destruction Machine is in full effect in Secret Window. The main character, Mort Rainey (played with a multitude of character tics by the ever-experimenting Depp), is going through a divorce after his wife had a miscarriage. Worse, her caught her in bed with another man, a man she continues to date and who lives in "their" house. In fact, Secret Window has all the makings of an episode out of Cops, complete with wife beating, lawsuits, alcohol abuse, and houses being set on fire.
Secret Window only bothers with the third and fourth elements, the other two being curiously repressed. Indeed, much of Secret Window is bizarrely out of place. Mort lives in a cabin where there were happier times. In that cabin is a secret window. It's also where he goes to think. Let's call it the "secret window to his mind."
But Mort's not thinking. He's not writing. He's got the worst case of writer's block ever. Mostly, he sits on the couch and occasionally answers an old phone.
Why doesn't Mort have a cell phone? Well, cause that would screw up the plot in about five minutes. Much of the movie feels outdated without explanation for why it doesn't deal with modern plot elements (but Mort's laptop is definitely modern).
Secret Window has some beautiful symbolism, symbolism entirely on the part of the director and having very little to do with Mr. King. We flow through a mirror at one point of the film and then out again - that's Very Important. Indeed, if anything, Secret Window ranges from hackneyed to over-the-top-obvious.
Without giving away the plot, I can confidently say that Session 9 explored the same human depths of depravity, the same loss of self, the same murder mystery, only it did it much better. Session 9 kicks this movie's ass.
Ultimately, there's nothing GREAT about this movie, and that's a shame. It's always fun to see Johnny act (act, Johnny, act!) but his performance is but glossy paint on a rickety old movie that King built.
Anyway, I did not love this movie. In an amusing twist, not only did I not enjoy Secret Window, I wasn't paying attention enough to catch onto the plot twist. Maleficent did - in fact, she said she saw the whole plot twist coming a mile away. In my defense, I feel the movie was boring enough such that I wasn't looking that hard for the Plot Twist ™.
That, and the fact that there were two people in the movie theater who were possibly drunk, definitely movie hopping, and loudly whispering to each other throughout every potentially scary scene.
"He's in the closet," the female would loudly whisper, "I just know he's going to jump out and stab her."
"No he's not," says the male, "he's under the bed..."
I'm not sure if it's better or worse that they were wrong on EVERY count. Still, it completely distracted me from watching the movie. I seem to have this problem a lot (for more amusing anecdotes, see the throw down after Dawn of the Dead). But I digress.
Secret Window is standard Stephen King fare. Good ole' Mr. King is an expert at taking an everyday domestic situation and turning it into a supernatural, awful occurrence. Indeed, the events that take place are awful enough - the supernatural just speeds up the horrible process. And that process is the complete destruction of a human being.
The Stephen King Destruction Machine is in full effect in Secret Window. The main character, Mort Rainey (played with a multitude of character tics by the ever-experimenting Depp), is going through a divorce after his wife had a miscarriage. Worse, her caught her in bed with another man, a man she continues to date and who lives in "their" house. In fact, Secret Window has all the makings of an episode out of Cops, complete with wife beating, lawsuits, alcohol abuse, and houses being set on fire.
Secret Window only bothers with the third and fourth elements, the other two being curiously repressed. Indeed, much of Secret Window is bizarrely out of place. Mort lives in a cabin where there were happier times. In that cabin is a secret window. It's also where he goes to think. Let's call it the "secret window to his mind."
But Mort's not thinking. He's not writing. He's got the worst case of writer's block ever. Mostly, he sits on the couch and occasionally answers an old phone.
Why doesn't Mort have a cell phone? Well, cause that would screw up the plot in about five minutes. Much of the movie feels outdated without explanation for why it doesn't deal with modern plot elements (but Mort's laptop is definitely modern).
Secret Window has some beautiful symbolism, symbolism entirely on the part of the director and having very little to do with Mr. King. We flow through a mirror at one point of the film and then out again - that's Very Important. Indeed, if anything, Secret Window ranges from hackneyed to over-the-top-obvious.
Without giving away the plot, I can confidently say that Session 9 explored the same human depths of depravity, the same loss of self, the same murder mystery, only it did it much better. Session 9 kicks this movie's ass.
Ultimately, there's nothing GREAT about this movie, and that's a shame. It's always fun to see Johnny act (act, Johnny, act!) but his performance is but glossy paint on a rickety old movie that King built.
posted by talien | 8:42 PM
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