(Rated PG-13)
Surprising us by jumping from one genre to another, Johnny Depp goes from unexpected Pirate of the Caribbean to a writer in the mountains. Based on the Stephen King novel, comes the story of Mort Rainey (Depp) with a bad case of writer’s block, partly due to the messy breakup of his marriage to Amy (Maria Bello), after finding her in bed with her lover (Timothy Hutton). Writer-director David Koepp, whose history includes screenplays for “Spider-Man” and “Panic Room,” leans heavily on Depp to carry the movie, spending much of his screen time alone. John Turturro plays Shooter, a weird hick, who shows up from out of nowhere, to claim that Mort stole his original story. Like “Sixth Sense” or “A Beautiful Mind”, this edge-of-your-seat-thriller leaves the viewer reflecting back with doubt and surprise, through the chronology of scenes and studying their credibility to achieve its stunning and final outcome.
