I did like Johnny Depp in the lead role, applying his usual quirky, off-beat nature which we have come to know so well. He is really quite believable as the semi-depressed, paranoid, and disheartened writer Mort Rainey, and it’s always great to see him in a role that isn’t Captain Jack Sparrow. However the shining star of the film isn’t Depp. The thing that single-handedly saved the film and made it worthwhile was the inclusion and performance of one John Turturro. To again compare film to book, Turturro captures the character of John Shooter perfectly, bringing that incisive and downright scary nature that King so finitely conjured up in the book. The film's major strengths lie in the scenes with Turturro and Depp; the batting back and forth of threatening and paranoid dialogue is an absolute nerving joy to watch.

The film may be a great companion piece for anyone who’s a novelist or writer and is going through something similar to the character — a divorce, an obsessive fan, or just plain old writer’s block. If nothing else it does a pretty good job of capturing the angst that many writers have to go through on the most basic of levels; even for the best of authors sometimes trying to write a good story is a difficult thing to do in and of itself.

Although there are certainly details and plot points played around with and changed in the film, none is tampered with quite as much as the ending. To say it differs significantly would be a huge understatement. I won’t reveal it, to spare anyone who would like to learn it from watching the film rather than here, but let’s just say it is peculiar that they managed to conjure up such a well done, fitting ending when you consider the not-so-exceptional rest of the film.

I can quite comfortably recommend Secret Window, just managing to give it a pass down to its adequate ticking of all the correct cinematic boxes, a surprisingly anti-Hollywood ending, and especially the chilling performance by Turturro. However it will no doubt leave fans of the original story a bit irked by the changes.