The Deep End (2001) Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Donat, Josh Lucas, Raymond J. Barry, Tamara Hope, Jordon Dorrance. Cinematography by Giles Nuttgens. Music by Peter Nashel. Screenplay by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, based on the novel "The Blank Wall" by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. Directed by McGehee and Siegel. 99 minutes. Rated R, 4 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo.net Archive reviews at http://reviews.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to ejohnsonott@prodigy.net or e-mail ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
"The Deep End" uses a color palette of rich earth tones surrounded by a vast array of blues. Alluring, attractive blues, but also icy and foreboding. After taking in their beauty, the eye seeks out the reassuring browns and greens, like a tired swimmer searching for the safety of land. The production works that way as well – it pulls you in initially as a crisp, thoroughly-modern thriller, with clipped exchanges between defiantly non-communicative characters. But the real draw of the film is the submerged humanity of two key players as "The Deep End" gradually reveals the melodramatic core beneath its ironic candy coating.
SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals the basic storyline. I believe the plot points are incidental, because the real rewards come in exploring the mindset of the main characters, but still, you should proceed at your own risk.
With her husband Tom, a Naval officer, often away at sea, Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton) holds down the fort, taking care of the children, Beau (Jonathan Tucker), Paige (Tamara Hope), and Dylan (Jordon Dorrance), while her father-in-law Jack (Peter Donat) hovers in the background, always watching. The story opens with Margaret leaving the family home in Lake Tahoe to storm a male strip club in Reno. It seems that Beau, her eldest, is having an affair with Darby Reese (Josh Lucas), a disreputable sort 12 years his senior. Margaret demands that Darby leave her son alone, only to have the man smirk at her and announce he'll be glad to steer clear of Beau – for $5000.
Back at home, she tries to talk about it all with her son, but the kid won't even confirm that he's gay, let alone discuss the issues she has with his boyfriend. He does, however, get attentive when she reveals Darby's $5,000 offer, even as he maintains his sullen demeanor. Late in the evening, Darby shows up outside, tossing pebbles at Beau's window like a schoolchild. The two meet by the water at the boathouse, where something important happens. I won't reveal what; suffice to say we become aware of a significant fact that Margaret does not.
All of this happens in the first few minutes of the movie, by the way. Within a day or so, Margaret's life becomes even more complicated when a suave man named Alec Goran Visnjic) turns up with an explicit videotape documenting the sex life of Beau and Darby. He and his associate are willing to destroy the tape, once Margaret coughs up $50,000.
Oh, what's a mother to do?
END SPOILERS
Written, directed and produced by Scott McGehee and David Siegel ("Suture"), "The Deep End" is based on Elisabeth Sanxay Holding's 1940's novel, "The Blank Wall," which was also the source of the 1949 film, "The Reckless Moment." I've neither read the book nor seen the movie, but I understand that the filmmakers changed some details. In Holding's story, the "scandalous" relationship is between an older man and Margaret's teen-age daughter. Switching the gender makes the tale seem more contemporary, and it also raises questions about Margaret's motives.
Many reviews of "The Deep End" describe Margaret as a mother ferociously protecting her son, but I wonder. Consider this: Margaret lives in a meticulously kept upscale home. Her husband is absent most of the time and seems to be regarded as a larger-than-life figure. Her father-in-law is constantly present, almost as if he is monitoring for his son. And when her husband does call, Margaret is careful not to tell him about anything disturbing that is going on with the family.
So is Margaret a mother who accepts her son's sexual orientation and is simply trying to shield the young man from a lover she fears will take advantage of him? Or is she caretaker of a museum of upper middle class complacency, desperate to maintain the status quo so that everything will be postcard perfect when the old man returns from the sea? You sort it out.
Regardless, the resonance of "The Deep End" comes from two actors. Goran Visnjic, best known from the TV drama "ER," is striking as a blackmailer unlike any you've seen before. He engages Margaret in a mesmerizing dance of protocol, chivalry and simmering eroticism. But the star of this show, without a doubt, is the remarkable Tilda Swinton. Watch the shadings, depth, resource, vitality and understated sexuality she gives Margaret and try to imagine the film without her. Days after my second viewing of "The Deep End," I can still vividly picture her negotiating with villains, trying to connect with her son and diving into icy blue water. "The Deep End" is an exceptional film and Tilda Swinton is the best part of it.
© 2001 Ed Johnson-Ott
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