Deep Water Review

 

Deep Water is an erotic psychological thriller movie based on Patricia Highsmith's 1957 novel of the same name. The film's produced by 20th Century Studios, Regency Enterprises, New Regency, Entertainment 360, Film Rites, and Entertainment One and distributed by Hulu. Deep Water is written by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson and directed by Adrian Lyne.

The story is married couple Vic and Melinda Van have fallen out of love with each other. In order to save their, or at least he thinks so, Vic allows his wife to have multiple affairs with anyone she likes. But something starts to happen that starts to make them question if this was the right choice.

Initial Reaction

Why did I want to see this? It was Ben Affleck, because whether he's Batman or not, I still want to see what else he's working on.

Cons

One issue with the movie is how slow it is. I don't mean a slow burn, I mean it's just slow. For a movie that clocks in at 2 hrs. and 33 minutes, I didn't feel like that. If anything it felt almost longer. Then we have the fact of it doesn't do a good job keeping you interested. One part of the movie is it's supposed to be a thriller, and yet a lot of times it's now thrilling. And when something does happen or starts to happen, everything in the deck just gets thrown out and then we're left right back with nothing again. What was also a big issue was there was so much story missing. One of the biggest examples of that is Vic and Melinda's marriage. We don't know why it went sour. We're not even left with a slight hint. Which is kinda an odd choice considering it felt necessary given the story we have. Then there's the fact of how tame it is. For an erotic thriller it sure doesn't live up to the erotic part. Whenever something sexy does start to happen, it gets cut away. Which is just hilarious and bizarre to me. Because it came off as look how sexy this movie, but at the same time we're not gonna show you anything.

Middle Ground

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Pros

One bit of credit I do want to give is Adrian Lyne's directing. For someone who's been out of the directing game for 20 years, he sure didn't miss a beat. I mean it. If any of you are fans of his work, I think directing wise, you'll like this. Then we have Been Affleck and Ana de Armas. Despite the very weak script, these two still give good performances.

Deep Water is a letdown. It's pacing can be painfully slow, it barely does it's job of keeping you interested, bits of story feel missing, and even though one of the three things it's as is erotic, it's very tame. The only two good things were Lyne's directing and the performances from our two main stars.

Okay, I'm all done here. Come back on Monday, Mar 21st for my review of the 2022 version of Cheaper by the Dozen. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.