Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, Mort closes the door of his jeep before he goes into the hotel room. You can hear the sound of the door closing and it's visible in the rearview-mirror. As the camera moves out of the room, the jeep door is completely open. (00:02:05)
Secret Window (2004)
Plot summary
Directed by: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton
Mystery writer Mort Rainey is severely depressed and in the middle of a divorce. He’s been holed up in his cabin for weeks when John Shooter from Mississippi arrives and accuses Mort of plagiarizing his story. Shooter demands retribution. Mort insists he wrote his story first, but makes futile attempts to prove it. He finally tells Shooter he’ll send for a copy of the Ellery Queen magazine issue that his story was published in, and this will prove his was written first. Shooter agrees this will settle the matter, but while waiting for the magazine to arrive, people begin turning up dead.
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Suggested correction: The door just didn't actually catch. I've had cars like that, especially during the winter.
Given that we see it stay closed for almost 4 seconds and hear it catch, it's a valid mistake.
If you've ever lived where it snows a lot, you'd know that door catches accumulate moisture (ice) and can open slowly, as it did in this case.
Mort: I don't care. I'm just gonna smoke. I'm just gonna totally smoke. I'll finish these, go to the store and get a brand-new pack, smoke the shit out of that one.
Trivia: Chicko, the dog, was 11 years old and blind. The dog was constantly bumping into furniture so it was very hard for the film crew. They only got one take of Chicko walking through the doggie door with out bumping into the wall or a piece of furniture and that is the take that was in the movie.
Question: What is the meaning behind the Morton salt and other groceries that Mort buys at the end of the movie?
Answer: Mort Rainey buys the salt, butter, and napkins for eating the corn he grew in the garden above Ted and Amy's graves. The "Morton" brand of salt uses the advertising slogan, "when it rains, it pours." Mort Rainey's name can be translated to "raining death." The "Vanity Fair" napkins could be a refernce to Mort's personality.
The term Vanity Fair was coined (I believe first) by John Bunyan in 1678, as a place in a story called ‘The Pilgrim's Progress'. Mort is referred to as ‘Pilgrim' by a few different characters in the film, including himself, without much explanation until the serviettes. Brilliant. Vanity Fair in John Bunyan's story is a never-ending fair of frivolity, which is similar to Mort's charade of denial. Found this info when I searched the meaning of Vanity Fair on vocabulary.com.
Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress was also the inspiration for William Thackeray's 1847 novel, "Vanity Fair."