Secret Window

[tarotgal]

Just saw Secret Window. Dragged Boyfriend to it. He shrugged and "umphed" at it. I adored it. Oohhhhh I loved it *G*

I haven't read anyone's reviews on it yet- I refuse to compromise my opinions by doing that. LOL But I'll cut since I know just a few of you have seen it.

So, I loved it. It was a little bit Fight Club and a little bit Adaptation. I'd seen a lot of the concepts before- the madness, the cigs, the character running away, the sleeping and blocking it out of your memory, etc. But the thing that I really liked about it was that it expressed those old tricky elements in a way I could relate to. I wanted to see the movie way way before I ever knew Johnny was going to be in it... I'm sooooo in love with movies about writers. I WANT to be an eccentric writer in a cabin going mad. I really do! I want to be a J.D.Salinger recluse. So seeing Johnny in that role was fantastic. Yummy boy *ruffles Mort's hair* But the whole idea was expressed well and I was hooked from the beginning with the story within the story. I wanted him to have written it... I wanted that evidence. I wanted to see it in print in the magazine. I grew desperate for a copy. Of course I was also taken in by his plight. I was scared for him, and sad for him. I was annoyed at Ted and his wife. And I WANTED to see him be able to stand up to them. I did enjoy the possible twist of Ted being in charge... Mort desperately grasping for reason. When art and stories are never, ever reasonable. And characters are NEVER controllable. I loved Shooter. He scared me to death... and I WANTED him to be Mort's. I wanted Mort to have created him, to have reached inside of himself and "cut" that out, like he cut out the story.

I loved the little writing details throughout. How he should be paying attention to the details- that if readers DID, there would be NO mystery in a mystery story. But most stories exist successfully because readers DON'T stop and pay attention to those details. The story isn't in the details... it's in the plot. And at the climax, readers don't want to go back and think it through like Mort didn't. I loved the two titles... as someone who SUCKS at titles, that really struck me. How a story can exist on different levels at different times just because they are different titles. The title really makes the story unique and spin's the reader's perceptions of it. If the two stories had had the same title, there wouldn't have been a mystery in that. Even with most of the same words, they were still different stories with different titles. And 'Secret Window' or 'Secret Window, Secret Garden'... I like those titles. Windows to the soul... looking down on gardens. Gardens are where things are born, created. Where things are grown to be devoured, just like stories are created and then devoured. And a secret way of looking in on that creation... the secret no one knows about. That way of looking at what he was creating and what he was becomming... just like they became the corn. That secret way of looking inside of yourself, cutting yourself open and letting your characters out, giving them control to help you create. Giving them control over your life to devour you. Yeah... ohhhh yeah. I like that title much much. Damn good.

And he's SO right. The ending's what's important. The details all come together to form the ending. That's what the people care about. That's what makes it. If the ending isn't perfect, the story isn't perfect. It makes the story the story.
And the ending here was great. NO way it could have ended any differently. I WANTED Mort to murder his wife. He couldn't sign the d-i-v-o-r-c-e *giggle* papers because then they wouldn't be married and the short story would be wrong. The movie HAD to end the way it did, and I soooooo wanted him to do it. I soooo wanted him to become his character and do it and get away with it. It takes a special bad guy gor me to want to root for the bad guys to do evil things... but Mort was certainly one of them. I was caught up in the need for that perfect ending. Everything depended on it. It had to be perfect. It could only end one way. Divorce wasn't an option, settling it nicely wasn't an option. It was the only way it could go, and Mort had to become Shooter because that was the only way he could make it happen. No matter how much terror had happened... once the ending came... all was resolved. Everything was perfect. I was happy. Mort was happy. I was happy because Mort was happy.

I liked the movie. I was caught up in it and enjoyed it... and all of Johnny's little things like shaking the phone and all, very well done. heehee I love all his accents. LOL But, yeah, I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I didn't want to be a writer. I have a soft spot for crazy writers. I have voices and images in my head all the time. And I talk to myself when I'm alone... I talk to my cat a LOT... but he understands me. LOL Yeah. I could totally relate. And Johnny was adorable as ever. Lots of little yummy things in his performance.

Anyway. I Loved. Very realistic to me... very compelling... beautifully storytelling with just enough detail so that smart people could figure it out WAY back in the beginning, normal people could figure it out when he starts nagging himself in the car about the details after the pages were cut out, and stupid people could be all shocked when they spell out SHOOT HER on the wall. I love stories like that. Where you can just sit back and understand and then FEEL people around you getting it, too. Slowly but surely, they all eventually figure it out. Just at their own time, at their own moment, with lots of opportunities to do so. Makes it a different experience for everyone. Which is, after all, what storytelling is all about. Gah. Perfect. I loved.


When we got out of the theater I asked Boyfriend how he liked it. I told him I loved it as a writer, and he said something like "Yeah, I thought of you right from the beginning. With all those naps and not getting dressed and getting up to write... that's how you are right now." I replied dreamily with "I SOOO want to be that person!" and he said "You ARE that person!" Only problem is, I don't get paid for it currently. But I want that lifestyle. Badly. I haven't slept in my bed in, like, a month. I just crash on the couch with little naps. Haven't used an alarm clock in such a long time. And I'm SO particular about my pillows. Good gods I want to live the life Mort had. LOL Secluded cabin... comfy couch... computer... "No bad writing!"... and a dog/cat or two to keep me company. Awww Totally me! Course I wouldn't mind a guy to share it with... so long as he didn't mind my crashing on the couch a lot heehee

Comments

[silverelf.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, you put it into words so perfectly. That lifestyle, that's what I want more than anything. Excluding only the smelly robe, I think lol. But yeah, the movie was wonderful and just... guh! Makes me want to go up to MY cabin in the woods ((it's an old log cabin that my great grandfather built. Ohyeah ;D)) and just... settle down to live like that.

It made me wonder, too, if all writers talk to themselves like that. Because I know I sure do! I was wiggling in my seat, going 'THAT'S ME!'

I don't think I could put why I adored the movie so much in words. But you did a good job of it. Now I don't have to. Hee.

"I just killed the mirror..."

[tarotgal]

"...and my shower door."
LMAO I loved that part.
Though the symbolizm of him breaking his mirror, consiering the symbols of windows and mirrors and the roles they have in the rest of the movie, is a lot deeper now that I think of it. Killing his mirror could be looked at as not being willing to accept/see the truth of the situation. And of course it was symbolic since he saw *his* reflection and thought it was Shooter... but since he *was* shooter... he should have figured it out right then *G*

Awwww! Thank you for admiring what I was trying to get at with my rambling. I do love Johnny... he's just not my most favorite actor and not at all the reason I went to see the movie :-) It touched me on a whole lot of levels. And I'm glad it did the same to others.

Oohhh! So envious I am of your cabin!!!!!! I've always wanted a cabin in the woods with a fireplace. *sigh* Lucky lucky you! :-)

Most writers hear voices, actually. Whether it's character voices or inner naration. Writers express themselves through words, so I think it's only normal to think in words. And writers are used to analyzing situations and scrutinizing over details... it's hard to do that without talking to a voice in your head, I think. I know in my creative writing classes in college (the serious classes) most people admitted to hearing things in their heads and talking to themselves.

[silverelf.livejournal.com]

*gigglefits* I could spend hours quoting this movie. Mort was just such an incredible character, whether he was being funny (("I'm just TOTALLY going to smoke...")) or deep, or, yeah, killeresque. He had so many levels, which is why I loved him so much. He's one of those characters I just want to sit and think about for an hour after the movie ends.
It all comes back down to him not wanting to accept things, I think. He didn't want to accept that it was him doing all these horrible things, so his brain blocked them out. And then he starts seeing things, which was really reality, though he didn't know that yet. He didn't want to accept that his wife was REALLY serious about this new guy, so he refused to sign the divorce papers. It's like... psychanalysist.

Oh, I would have seen this movie even if it was someone I can't STAND in the lead. Like... Jerry O'Connel. Or something. I adore stories like this, and knowing Stephen King, I knew it would be one of those stories that make your brain tingle. He's just *like* that. Which makes me happy. :D

Hee. It's a beautiful little cabin, and okay, it's not quite in the woods. It's on a little street with an unpaved road, and if you step into the back yard, you cross the lawn and THEN you're in the woods. And it's across from a private beach. Hee hee, it has an old pot-bellied stove in the living room. That's the fireplace. I adore it, because you step inside and get attacked by the smell of cedar. Mmm... I want to go there now. LOL

I love how well you put things into words. *grins* I would have said the same thing, only much less intelligent. Oh well, that's one of the reasons why I adore you so much. *pets at you* :-D

[eowyngreenleaf.livejournal.com]

omg, it was the BEST movie! I want to see it again hehe. im not normally into these suspense thriller type films just because im a wuss LOL but this one--i swear, if johnny wasnt in it as the main character, i probably wouldnt have had any urge. but wow, i was very impressed.

oh hehe and i talk to myself all the time too ;) ill have a full conversation with myself and sometimes my stepmom or my dad'll be home and i wont realize it, and ill come upstairs and they'll be like "Er...who are you talking to?" *blinks--blushes* "No one--" *coughs and runs*

i love watching movies about writers--esp. deranged writers ;) did you see The Hours? that's another good one sort of like this i guess. was mort scitzaphrenic (gah i cant spell!!!) do you think--or multiple personality disorder? my mom suggested the multiple personality one since he had 3 different personalities.

i thought the part where he and his double were talking to each other was really neat. i always wonder how they do that. heh.

he was SEXY as EVER in this ;) loved the constant bed-head look *giggles*

oh yes, im starting a fic about this now ;) i couldnt resist. :-D *cackles*

[tarotgal]

Yeah, Johnny was very good in it. He's always very good about making his characters deep and unique. That's what I've always loved about him. But I definitely would have gone to see this if it wasn't Johnny. I didn't even know he was in it when I first heard they were making the movie.

Not to get technical... but I don't know how he would be diagnosed. I think he really only had two separate personalities... but one was a character, which was born out of himself. The other "self" he talked to was also himself... he was just debating himself in a auditory and visual format. In Schizophrenia, people hear voices in their heads and have hallucinations- which is certainly what he had... but he was also a writer, which, to me, comes with the territory to an extent. But multiple personality disorder is where there are separate people with individual names/characteristics/stories but they don't know about each other- which was how Mort & Shooter were during the film. SO maybe a mix of both. But I still only think he has 2 distinct separate personalities.

You should watch the extras and director's commentary on Back to the Future Part2. They spend most of the time talking about how they did the split scenes and wipes to allow the characters to talk to themselves :-) I learned a lot from that. heehee

[eowyngreenleaf.livejournal.com]

i dont know if id be too interested in awtching Back to the Future. but hmmmm, ill have to look the info. up.

i wanted to let you know that i posted a "Secret Window" fic onto sneezefic last night. i read your post where you said you're still catching up to comments & such, but i dont know if you saw that or not :-D if so, cant wait to see what you think. if not, it's there. ;)

[tarotgal]

Yeah, my last journal post was about it being on sneezefic, though I suppose I didn't mention it directly (the only about me wanting to give those stories just posted on sneezefic time since the weekends are the worst time to post stories for comments, I've found)

[eowyngreenleaf.livejournal.com]

ah i wasnt sure if you were referencing that or not. :) i thought you meant between you seeing the movie etc. you didnt have a chance to post a friday fic. ;) anyway--hope you like it when you read it. :-D

[tarotgal]

Yeah, well, certainly that, too. *sigh* Missed a Friday Fic twice in a row... I feel badly!

But I wasn't going to post the Remus fic onlist either because I wanted to be sure your and Meg's fics were read first. Mine's 30+ pages and will be posted in parts, so I didn't want to bury the other stories right away. Weekends on sneezefic are just so slow :-)

[eowyngreenleaf.livejournal.com]

awww thanks :) yeah, ive noticed that sneezefic weekends are slow...i do tend to get most feedback on weekdays. odd, you'd think it the other way around since most ppl are off on weekends. (or so i think)

[tarotgal]

I completely agree. I would think it'd be much more energetic on the weekends. It confuses me.

But I suppose during the week people do have access at work/school and might visit the site to distract themselves from work. And on weekends they go out and do all the fun stuff they can't do at home during the week. So makes a little sense if that's the case. *shrug*

[eowyngreenleaf.livejournal.com]

that's what i was thinking...maybe when working on school stuff they have more access to the net or at work. i usually have more time on weekends to post fics, because my friends are all away at school and i just go to comm. college. heh. next year i wont have as much time to update, because im making it a point to go out and party as much as possible ;)

[eowyngreenleaf.livejournal.com]

oops--forgot to add this. i think i agree that because im a writer, it's easier to relate to these types of films. just because i can understand his frustration with the ending not being perfect, because usually to me a good ending makes all the difference. (more than enough times ive read stories with endings that are like "What the hell was that author thinking?!?!" or that the endings were too rushed). also the "I'm open for suggestions" line is me also when i have writer's block ;) i could sit on his lap and see what I could come up with. *bg* ok, yep, ill shut up now.

[tarotgal]

I have not read the novella yet, so I cannot speak to that precisely. But in the movie, I do believe that he did many of the things he did when Mort thought he was asleep. Usually in multiple personality disorders, one personality essentially "goes to sleep" when another takes over. So Mort wouldn't have a memory of doing any of them and just think he was asleep during those times. Think of Ginny from the second book, with her blackouts when she did those things under Tom's control. There are many moments in the movie where he falls asleep or passes out. Think of the morning when he was supposed to meet with the big bad tough black dude (can't remember his name). He overslept. And when he woke up, people were dead. And he had to take care of it because he was the personality who was awake at the time (and thus physically able to do it, whereas the Shooter projection wouldn't be able to) Or think of when he went to pick up the magazie at the post office. The girl clearly indicated he'd been there earlier that day and was confused (as anyone would be in her situation). But he has no memory of physically being there because he was blacked out/asleep at that time.
He was actively talking to this other personality earlier in the movie, however. He was sure this person actually existed. Which is, also, part of the disorder. And just think about the times that he unplugged the phone. Not only did he make that decision on one level (because emotionally he wanted not to be disturbed) but on a more unconscious level (not wanting to be woken up because he had things to do when he was alseep). Not to say with certainty that every time he went to sleep he went out and physically did something... I can't speak to that either since I saw the movie a long while ago and can't remember each and every instance... but almost always when he woke up, something had happened. The point of the end was sort of a combination of everything together, and the fact that now he had the combined strength to do the deed and be able to emotionally face it and accept his role in it and remember doing it later. So that's the only time the audience needs to see the thing happening, since we get it only from Mort's POV.

Does that answer your question? I'm not really sure I followed what you were confused about. This part seemed sort of obvious to me, so I just wanted to be sure you weren't asking something else and I misread your question. Sorry in advance if I did and have bored you with all of this.

[tarotgal]

It would probably be more accurate to say that when he was actually up killing or doing whatever he did, he thought he was sleeping. Rather than saying the reverse.
Because of course there had to have been some time when he actually did physically sleep (because we saw him dream at least once). So while sleeping was a necessary condition for him to be up and killing, etc., every time he went to sleep it doesn't mean he was up and doing things.
In other words, don't worry in fics about putting him to sleep. It doesn't mean he'll necessarily slip into another personality at that point.

Glad the HP reference helped. There's a dozen other movies I can mention that illustrate the same thing but I knew you were familiar with that one. I love in HP5 when Ginny angry at Harry because he's so angsty and doesn't go to her about his Voldy-controlling-him suspicions. And she's all "Did you have long blackouts where you'd wake up after a long time and not remember what you'd been doing or what happened? No? Then he's not controlling you!" LOL She's such a rational, feisty chica. Love her :-)