Deep Water Overview
Premiering on Hulu in the US and on Amazon Prime Video internationally, “Deep Water” is a psychological thriller that was released in 2022. This movie is a creation of Adrian Lyne. The film is based on the 1957 novel by the same name “Deep Water” by Patricia Highsmith and features actors Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. The storyline is about a man who gets embroiled in a bond he believes to be manipulative and emotionally katercising. Affleck’s and de Armas’s real-life relationship generated a lot of buzz even before the film was released, but despite all the anticipation, it received mediocre reviews.
Lyne went on a two-decade hiatus and this was his first movie post-break. Critics, while praise it for being a character study, deep (pun intended) in nature, decried the mood-setting and slow pacing of the film.
Plot Summary
Set in a high-society town of Louisiana, the film features Vic Van Allen, played by Ben Affleck. The character is wealthy, but shoveled down by emotions. He stays with his unpredictable wife Melinda (Ana de Armas), along with their daughter Trixie. There is a lot to take away from this couple’s marriage—the extravagant parties, the stylish Beverly Hills house, and their high-society friends. However, there remain some underlying challenges that the couple tackles throughout the film.
It appears Vic has consented to an unconventional arrangement: Melinda is allowed to take on lovers, as long as they uphold the semblance of a marriage for the benefit of their daughter. Vic, at first glance, comes off as withdrawn and passive, but there is an uproar within him. Melinda shows no remorse as she shows off her affairs with callousness, showcasing her numerous lovers to Vic and their friends. Their relationship is fraught with conflict, with Vic’s quiet intensity standing in stark contrast to Melinda’s emotional unpredictability.
When a portion of Melinda’s lovers go missing, rumors start to circulate. Another male is later discovered deceased. Vic sits at the epicenter of accusations, regardless of the fact that no credible evidence links him to the offenses. With each death, and with Melinda starting to doubt him, the couple’s relationship takes a turn, becoming a perilous psychological tango driven by overpowering lust and oppressive fury.
Main Cast and Performances
Ben Affleck as Vic Van Allen
Under Afflecks’s portrayal the introduction of Anger Management’s Vic Van Allen is vague and muted, almost devoid of warmth. With each measured word and slow glance, Vic is brought to life with an unnatural sense of suspicion and menace. Affleck further leans into Vic’s contradictory nature of being father and husband and a possible murderer, playing the character with unsettling energy throughout the film.
Ana de Armas as Melinda Van Allen
De Armas’s capture of Melinda is This blend of carelessness and awareness results in a character that is both captivating yet maddening. Her infallible power that embodies a woman, pushing boundaries, testing her husband while simultaneously stirring uncontrollable emotions within the audience. De Armas’s performance serves as the emotional anchor of the film, fully embodying Melinda’s wild side.
Grace Jenkins as Trixie Van Allen
It would be a plugin to say that Jenkins portrayed the wild and flirtatious side of Melinda with grace because it makes no sense, however, it truly does fit. As Trixie, Jenkins is able to showcase her range as an actress while providing much-needed humour and playful adoration. Her presence highlights the impact of the couple’s toxic relationship which, in classic Hollywood fashion, serves to further turn the audience’s stomach.
Supporting Cast
The ensemble includes Letts as Don Wilson, the Mackintosh suspicious family friend who becomes consumed with Vic’s story. Wilson brings a dangerously sharp edge to the film further amplifying the audiences discomfort while remaining infuriatingly skeptical about the enmeshed couple’s chaotic lifestyle.
Direction and Style
He returns with the sultry atmosphere, psychological interplay, and acute emotional interplay that define him. Deep Water is not dynamic in nature; it unfolds slowly with lingering stares, uncomfortable pauses, and the gradual revealing of truths.
The film’s warm, humid, Southern landscapes of swimming pools, garden parties, and candle lit rooms serve to bathe its characters and to deceive the viewer with a tranquil setting that conceals menace. The claustrophobia of domestic life and voyeuristic elements of the story are captured with the surgical precision of cinematographer Eigil Bryld.
In a blend of Hitchcockian suspense and erotic undertones, the film navigates uncharted waters. Lacking gruesome or shocking scenes usually found in thrillers, Deep Water focuses on the psychologically intense emotional combat rampant between its leads.
Themes and Analysis
Marriage and Control
Deep Water is best characterized as a film about control disguised as surrender. Vic gives Melinda the freedom to have affairs in order to keep the peace, but his silence is manipulatively deafening. The couple’s undercover war cloaked as marriage takes place in the unrelenting conflict zone filled with sex, suspicion, and trust. Ultimately, neither one gets to walk free from blame, and both are fully accountable for the decimation of trust.
Masculinity and Resentment
Simmering under Vic’s passivity is deep-seated resentment. The film delves into the oppressive silence, especially in men who are expected to be stoic, calm, and accepting. Although Vic does not display outward violence or control, his quiet demeanor ruptures to horrifying outcomes which indicate how containment of emotion can lead to the collapse of morality.
Freedom vs. Consequence
Melinda’s pursuit of a pleasurable life comes with a price. Discussing the ideas posed in Deep Water, is true freedom available in intimate relationships, love, jealousy, and possessiveness? The story toys with the notion that emotional baggage can render even consensual arrangements toxic.
Appearances and Secrets
Similar to Patricia’s other works, the psychological thriller relies on the gap between appearance and reality. The public perception of the Van Allen family is nothing but wonderful, while their private reality is full of chaos and destruction. This duality showcases society’s prioritization of one’s image over reality, leading to the secrets one hides in order to maintain sanity.
Reception
Deep Water’s initial release did not garner positive reviews fom critics or audiences. Despite receiving compliments for its provocative themes and impressive performances by Affleck and de Armas, the film received negative responses for its slow and suspense lacking pacing as well as a shocking and ambiguous ending.
Some viewers considered this film to be a return for Lyne and admired his balance character-driven approach to erotic drama. Others thought the film lacked a commitment to either an erotic or psychological thriller genre, resulting in an unsatisfying experience for genre audiences who were looking for a more explosive movie.
Regardless, numerous viewers admired the film’s mood, the performances delivered, and the unique relationship dynamic between the leads. The admiration stems from how their real life relationship added to the on-screen chemistry.
Conclusion
Deep Water is a psychological drama placed in the category of a slow burner. The film favors tension over shocking twists. With skilled performances delivered from Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, combined with a steered directorial style based on mood and character study, the film is quite literally an exploration of emotional dysfunction rather than a traditional thriller.
While not without imperfections, it offers a great deal to analyze under the themes of control, obsession, and performative marriage. Those who prefer morally complex characters and a plot that unravels with mounting tension will find in Deep Water a captivating study of love’s darker sides.
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