Secret Window (2004) PG-13

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Secret Window DVD A certain segment of Stephen King's work seems dedicated to exploring the inner workings of the writer's mind. While I find this fascinating on some level, the resulting screenplays never quite work as well as his story. Secret Window is one of these writer tales, examining the life of a writer (played by Johnny Depp) sequestered in his small town summer cottage to escape the impending collapse of his marriage following the discovery of his wife's infidelity. To make matters worse, a stranger shows up on the writer's doorstep making accusations of plagiarism. While the isolated writer theme quite obviously smacks of The Shining, it doesn't play out with the same creepiness. Depp delivers his usual outstanding ownership of the character he portrays, but the story falls down in the end, slipping into predictability at exactly the time it provides a compelling surprise. The DVD extras include an acceptable collection of featurettes, but nothing that screams 'buy me'.