Directors: David Koepp

Writer: Stephen King (novel) and David Koepp (screenplay)

Release: March 12, 2004

Shop: USA CAN UK

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Johnny Depp plays successful writer Mort Rainey, who is suffering from writer’s block and has retreated to an isolated lakeside cabin in the face of a divorce
from his wife, Amy (Maria Bello), following his discovery of his wife cheating on him with Ted Milner (Timothy Hutton, who starred as Thad Beaumont, in the
similarly themed Stephen King movie The Dark Half), now her boyfriend. Living alone in the woods, Mort is confronted one day by the mysterious John Shooter
(John Turturro) who accuses him of plagiarism. Shooter gives Mort a manuscript he claims to have written.

At first, Mort regards Shooter as mentally ill and throws away the book. But his maid takes it out of the garbage believing it was his and instead of throwing
it away again he cannot stop thinking about it, and finally reads it. It is exactly the same word for word. The movie follows Mort’s struggles to prove conclusively
to Shooter and to himself that he has not plagiarized the story. Shooter continually harasses Mort and later kills his dog, an Australian Cattle Dog named Chico. As
the story progresses, Mort hires a private investigator (Charles S. Dutton) and asks the help of the local sheriff, who doesn’t believe him. The investigator asks if
there are any witnesses, and Mort remembers a local man saw them together. But Shooter then murders both the investigator and the man and leaves them in a car. Mort
then pushes the car into the river, since he thinks the murders will be pinned on him. Shooter also burns down the house of Mort’s soon-to-be ex-wife. Mort is convinced
that Ted is the culprit responsible for the burning.

View The Trailer

Johnny Depp in Secret Window Interview

Johnny Depp interview Secret Window