Plot: Based on the celebrated novel by famed mystery writer Patricia Highsmith, Deep Water takes us inside the marriage of picture-perfect Vic and Melinda Van Allen to discover the dangerous mind games they play and what happens to the people that get caught up in them.
Review: Deep Water marks the first film by director Adrian Lyne in two decades. Known for his erotic thrillers 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal, Lolita, and Unfaithful, Lyne adapts a highly sexual story from the author of The Talented Mr. Ripley. With a script co-written by Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, Deep Water already had a lot of potential behind the scenes that was emphasized by the real-life relationship between co-stars Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas that was all over social media. In the two years since production ended, we have endured a pandemic as well as the end of Affleck and De Armas’ romance and are left with a movie that went from a theatrical slot to a Hulu premiere. With all of that build-up, Deep Water ends up a decent thriller that is not nearly as erotic as Lyne’s earlier films but still manages to be an enjoyable little thriller.
Set in New Orleans, Deep Water presents married couple Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana De Armas). While living together and co-parenting their daughter Trixie, Vic and Melinda have an arrangement in their relationship that allows Melinda the freedom to have sexual relationships in exchange for staying married to Vic. While not publicized, their friends and family are seemingly aware of Melinda’s transgressions and worry that Vic may not be as comfortable with it as he may seem. When one of Melinda’s friends turns up dead, the focus shifts to Vic and further stresses their already fractured marriage.
What is immediately noticeable when you watch Deep Water is how much more invested De Armas is than Affleck. At first, I got the impression that this was another example of Affleck taking a role but not really feeling engaged by it. As the film moves on, I began to get the feeling that this may have been a creative choice by Affleck to show the mask that Vic wears to protect himself from his emotions whereas Melinda has no inhibitions and lays all of her feelings out in the open. It is intriguing to see how there is so much chemistry between the two actors which clearly extended off-screen as well, but also makes you wonder how these roles could have potentially impacted their actual relationship.
I don’t want to give anything away as it relates to the plot, but Deep Water sticks pretty close to the source material with some significant changes to the ending. So, if you are familiar with the novel, you are still in for some surprises with how this adaptation ends things. There are a lot of characters here with some recognizable actors like Dash Mihok, Rachel Blanchard, Kristen Connolly, and Lil Rel Howery who are relegated to just a few scenes each. Finn Wittrock and Euphoria breakout Jacob Elordi also have important roles here, but the most significant supporting roles go to Tracy Letts as local author, Don, and Grace Jenkins as Trixie. Jenkins has a pretty substantial role for a child in a sexy adult thriller and even gets a special end credit scene that feels a bit out of place considering the plot.
So, now for the real question that you are waiting to have answered is just how sexy is Deep Water? Considering Lyne’s resume, especially with his last film being the very erotic Unfaithful, I was expecting a lot more nudity in this film. In fact, I don’t actually think there is any full nudity in this film aside from a couple of side shots of Ana de Armas‘ breasts and some bare butt. Overall, most of the sex here is implied and shown off-screen. Lyne instead focuses the camera on fleeting looks and reactions on Ben Affleck’s face. The sex scenes shown are all very brief and edited in such a way as to give the illusion that we are seeing more than we actually are. Deep Water plays a lot with the idea of anticipation and restriction which amplifies the moments of passion we do see.
Clocking in at just under two hours, Deep Water does begin to lose some momentum while Melinda takes lover after lover and Vic stands begrudgingly by. The suspicion that the characters experience towards one another begins to feel silly, but the screenplay by Zach Helm (Stranger than Fiction) and Levinson keeps you focused on siding with either Vic or Melinda. I found myself sympathizing with both at different times and as the movie builds towards the climax, you begin to question which side you aligned with. If you can get past some of the silly choices that factor into the plot (like Affleck riding a bike through the film) to the multitude of supporting characters and subplots that go nowhere, Deep Water still manages to tell an evocative murder mystery with a less than surprising whodunit at its core.
Deep Water premieres on March 18th on Hulu.