_The_Deep_End_of_the_Ocean_ (PG-13) ** (out of ****)
Michelle Pfeiffer turns in an impassioned performance of often gut-wrenching intensity in a film that deserves far less. It's not that the basic story is without promise. Beth Cappadora (Pfeiffer) loses her three-year-old son, only to have him resurface on her doorstep nine years later with no recollection of his former family (Ryan Merriman plays the now-12-year-old son). It's a setup ripe with psychological and emotional conflict, and apparently Jacquelyn Mitchard did it justice in her novel of the same name, which was not only a bestseller but none other than a selection in Oprah Winfrey's book club.
However, director Ulu Grosbard and scripter Stephen Schiff follow pedestrian TV-movie-like paces, from the abrupt and overly tidy ending to the rebelliously-bitter-yet-guilt-ridden older brother, well-played by Emmy-winning _General_Hospital_ star Jonathan Jackson. In fact, all the characters are well-played by the actors. It's just that the material is about as shallow as its deeply metaphoric title (the meaning of which, for the record, is never explained in the film).
Michael Dequina
mrbrown@iname.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com
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